Black Friday weekend is the biggest retail weekend of the year, ending on Cyber Monday. This is the weekend that kicks off the Christmas shopping season,, and shoppers across the country wait all year for the best deals on products from their favorite brands. While traditionally shoppers did their shopping in person, in recent years (especially in COVID), more people have chosen to forgo the crowds for a more convenient shopping experience online. In 2020, Black Friday weekend (including Cyber Monday) accounted for over $34.36 billion in online sales, which is expected to be even higher this year. Shopping online for Black Friday weekend didn’t just rise during recent, pandemic-driven buying habits, but online shoppers have actually out-paced in-store shoppers for years now.
Auto parts commerce isn’t much different from other retailing businesses during Black Friday. In 2020, the month of November saw an increase in auto sales of 269%. While this includes the sale of OEM and aftermarket parts, dealers on the RevolutionParts platform selling OEM parts saw a major increase in online sales, totaling $4.6 million dollars, compared to $4.1 million in 2019. In 2021, online sales are expected to increase to $5.7 million in parts and accessories sold for the holiday weekend.
How OEMs Can Support Parts Sales in Their Dealerships
Having a successful Black Friday weekend in the parts department means dealers need to be able to sell online. This is where people are shopping, even for auto parts. Customers will shop for auto parts online, whether dealers have their parts online or not, and if they are not, dealers are handing those sales over to their competition.
While most dealers that take advantage of current OEM programs in the parts department like their programs, more than half of those dealers wanted more eCommerce support from their OEM. This means manufacturers should start investing in creating a parts eCommerce program for their dealers to help them achieve more sales across the country.
While it may be too late for manufacturers to build an OEM eCommerce parts program that will support massive 2021 Black Friday sales set up for their dealers, now is the perfect time to start planning for Black Friday 2022. This will give OEMs and dealers plenty of time to create a robust parts program created for their brand with robust dealer adoption and success with their new eCommerce platform.
Creating a Hybrid Model OEM Parts Program
The best way for OEMs to support their dealers is by creating a parts program that supports the eCommerce capabilities that so many are seeking. Nowadays, it is no longer reasonable for dealers to rely primarily on foot traffic into their local dealership, which represents an outdated approach to parts retail customers who increasingly prefer the ease of shopping online with many local businesses.
Now is the perfect opportunity for OEMs to provide dealers with a parts eCommerce model that helps them to maximize their parts and accessories sales. The best way to do this is to create a Tier-1 / Tier-3 hybrid model. This allows dealers to take advantage of their own parts program and easily sell their inventory online through their web store while gaining easy access to the top online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. Dealers can also take advantage of orders consumers have placed on the OEM’s National Store. Furthermore, by allowing dealers to receive orders from their National Store, the manufacturer can take advantage of inventory carried by their dealers around the country to fulfill orders and reduce shipping costs and time.
Create a Powerful Parts eCommerce Platform
The best way for a manufacturer to create a powerful parts eCommerce program for their dealers that will maximize parts sales, not only for Black Friday weekend but throughout the entire year, is to partner with a company that specializes in creating parts eCommerce programs. When you partner with a company specializing in automotive parts eCommerce, you can have a branded hybrid parts eCommerce model up and running instantly, so you can be ready for Black Friday in 2022.
Contact us today to learn more about partnering with RevolutionParts and our custom parts eCommerce solutions.
