Fixed Ops Journal - June 2021 - F22

FIXED OPS JOURNAL
MAKING PARTS PAY
M
any dealership groups overlook
selling repair parts online as a
viable way to ratchet up revenue.
Rhode Island's Tasca Automotive
Group is not among them.
In fact, it's fair to say the group - which runs
12 dealerships in Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts
and its home state - has cracked the
code when it comes to selling original automaker
parts online. Tasca is poised to rack up $26
million to $27 million in online sales this year,
says Mike King, head of e-commerce parts.
By comparison, stats from the National Automobile
Dealers Association show the country's
16,623 franchised new-car dealerships
sold an average of $3.9 million in parts in 2020.
(Figures for just online sales aren't available.)
" Th ere aren't a lot of placKing:
Low prices
amp up volume.
es that do the volume we
do, " King says, noting the
company's four websites include
about 4 million manufacturers'
SKU numbers.
" We process and ship about
1,000 orders a day. And we
have a big staff , a call center
and three warehouses
around the country. "
Granted, Tasca had a
head start. In 2014, the auto group bought two
parts websites King developed and hired him
to grow its online sales. Tasca kept those two
websites running to leverage their brand equity
and added two more, King says.
Nonetheless, it shows what commitment to
online sales can yield, backed by the proper
resources.
" It's a good marriage, " King notes. " Th ere's
strength in numbers. "
Jon Hedges, principal of Hedges & Co., an
after market parts consulting group, says he is
not surprised " to hear a dealer group is doing
that well, but it's not very common. "
" It's all about the commitment, " he says.
O verlooked revenue source
King declined to divulge many details about
how Tasca became an industry outlier.
" I'm not going to tell everyone exactly how
the soup is made, only that it tastes delicious, "
he quips.
But the group's success underscores the revPAGE
22 JUNE 2021
Tasca Automotive Group runs three parts
warehouses and ships about 1,000 orders daily.
enue potential in an oft-ignored area, says
Mike Rich, marketing director for RevolutionParts,
which develops e-commerce platforms
for dealerships. Th e company has nearly 2,000
clients in North America.
Revolution Parts directly integrates dealership
websites with automakers' parts catalogs,
supplying all the required parts data and
images. Th e company also can integrate websites
with eBay and Amazon to reach an even
wider audience, Rich says.
" Historically, a lot of dealers ignore online
sales, " he tells Fixed Ops Journal. " In general,
parts is one area that receives the least
amount of light. But COVID-19 lifted the veil a
bit and showed dealers the importance of selling
parts online. "
In fact, sales generated by Revolution Parts
websites grew 28 percent in 2020 compared
with 2019, to a record $420 million.
" We can get dealerships up and running
quickly - usually within 30 days - with a
platform that's optimized to provide a worldclass
shopping experience, " he says.
Th e price of Revolution Parts' subscription
website service varies, but it averages around
$550 a month, Rich says.
Providing a great customer experience is one
Online sales help boost bottom line for some dealership groups
KEN WYSOCKY
foj@autonews.com
Elevate your
e-commerce efforts
After market parts sales consultant Jon
Hedges, principal at Hedges & Co.,
offers these suggestions for those
who want to sell parts online:
 An e-commerce website is a must;
an online request form or just
posting the parts department's
phone number won't cut it.
 65 to 80% of repair parts e-commerce
sales are done by cellphone,
so be sure the website is optimized
for mobile.
 Use Google Shopping to sell more
parts nationally.
 Optimize product data before
sending it to Google instead of
exporting it directly from your
website.
 For both paid and organic searches,
Google's algorithms prioritize
products that have photos over
those with illustrations.
 Good quality images will improve
your website's conversion rate.
 Google's expertise, authority and
trust algorithm favors websites that
include a company's physical
address, phone number and shipping
and return policies, as well as
details about the business and the
people who run it.
 Consistent product data is key for
maximizing Google Shopping's
artifi cial intelligence algorithms.
ingredient in the secret sauce that keeps Tasca's
online sales humming.
" For the most part, the customer experience
sucks when they buy parts from dealerships, "
King asserts. " But our customers are the reason
we come to work. "
Th e other ingredient is a fi nancial trade-off :
Lower prices yield smaller profi t margins but
also amp up volume, King says.
" People are price-conscious, " he notes.
" Th ey don't want to spend $800 on, say, a side
see PARTS , next page
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2021

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