How Much Is Your Parts Department Losing to Lousy Quoting?

How Much Money Is Your Parts Department Losing to a Lousy Quoting Process?

Auto parts sales is a $57 billion dollar industry in eCommerce alone. Chances are pretty good your customers’ digital road will lead to your retail platform – and that can be a frightening proposition if your online quoting system is busted.

Parts retailer sites still capture 74% of all online shoppers doing research pre-purchase. But manufacturer sites are right on your rearview mirror at nearly 70% depending on the spend. Frustrate your customers and they’ll switch lanes to find a better overall experience, one that points them in the direction of where to buy (HINT: it won’t be from your parts department).

Let’s look under the hood and see why you might be missing out on revenue opportunities, and how much you could be bringing in with a better quoting process.

Your quoting method takes too long and scares customers away

There’s no such thing as a “wait-and-see” approach when it comes to ordering new car parts. Customers expect quotes delivered quickly once they’ve contacted you online (or over the phone) regarding a part.

The irony is that the less time a customer has to spend interacting with your parts counter employees, the more satisfied they’ll be with their experience and the more likely they’ll be to shop from you again. That’s just how it is in the instant gratification world we live in, where 67% of shoppers would rather self-serve than speak to a representative.

67% of shoppers would rather self-serve than speak to a representative.

If your quoting method requires multiple rounds of back and forth just to figure out if the order is correct, or doesn’t include all relevant information like shipping costs up front, that means more interaction – and fewer sales.

Lost customers don’t just make a dent – they can leave you totaled

Our data tells us that the average online auto parts order is $210. Let’s say your parts department takes 10 quotes a day, but you only convert one of those into a sale. Now, 100% conversion is a lot to ask, but what if you could flip just half of those missed opportunities into sales?

or over

$300,000

a year

When we talk about things like absorption rate and how your parts department plays a major role in covering your total expenses, you can see how your quoting process and online parts form are hugely important

Think about other lost opportunities as well – if your parts counter employees can’t process a quote in a few simple clicks, they’re wasting valuable time. A lousy quoting process can also cost you valuable good reviews, word of mouth, and repeat customers that are the fuel for any ecommerce business.

Change your quoting process, change your revenue-generating life

So what does a great online quoting process look like? One that allows you to easily enter customer information, parts details, and preferred shipping methods all in one place. One that sets your parts employees up for success, no matter if an order came in from your website or a phone call. Other words that come to mind? Streamlined. Accurate. Stress-free.

All of these attributes describe the eCommerce solution from RevolutionParts. Our built-in quote creator drastically cuts down processing time for your employees and gives your customers a simple and elegant way to see what they owe, and how they can buy right away.

It’s a big auto parts selling world out there. We want you to improve your quoting process and make more revenue. You can quote us on that.

Stay Up-To-Date on Industry Topics

Fixed Ops trends, tips for growing online profits, and more