Auto Aftermarket Study Shows Radio Ideal Marketing Platform

RADIO ONLINE | Monday, September 28, 2020 | 5:01pm CT

Westwood One

Westwood One's Insights team reveals the results of the third annual study of the auto aftermarket category commissioned by Cumulus Media and Westwood One and conducted by MARU/Matchbox to determine the current state of America's auto parts retailers. The blog looks at the impact of Amazon and online shopping on auto aftermarket retailers and explains why AM/FM radio is the ideal marketing platform for the category.

• AM/FM radio is the ideal platform to advertise auto aftermarket. Heavy AM/FM radio listeners visit more retailers in the category, make more shopping trips, and spend +26% more than the average. Two key consumer segments, do-it-yourselfers and ultra-heavy auto parts shoppers, are far more likely to be heavy AM/FM radio listeners.

• Consistent brand equity and shopping patterns: AutoZone leads, but Amazon is a factor. Amazon, measured for the first time, earns a 10% share for "shopped most often in the past year." AutoZone, one of the first major national auto parts retailers, has nearly one-third who say they shop most at the retailer.

• Brand perceptions: Amazon ranks second among do-it-yourselfers and the ultra-heavy auto parts shopper segment. Averaging a series of 14 different category perceptions, Amazon places second among do-it-yourselfers and the ultra-heavy auto part shopper segments. Three online auto parts retailers (PartsGeek.com, RockAuto.com, and Amazon) have a combined 19% average brand image among the ultra-heavy auto parts shoppers.

• Brand equity: AutoZone leads, followed by Advance Auto Parts, Walmart, Amazon, O'Reilly Auto Parts, and NAPA Auto Parts.

• Brand opportunity: 27% of category shoppers cannot attribute perceptions to any retailer. Over a quarter of auto parts shoppers are unable to name a retailer for an average of the fourteen brand attributes. According to Les Binet and Peter Field, sales activation campaigns are the "carbs of advertising" and brand building campaigns are the "protein." Auto aftermarket retailers should heed their advice for an ideal mix of marketing investments of 40% sales activation and 60% brand building.

• Heavy auto parts shoppers are more likely to purchase online. Over the last three years, eight out of ten ultra-heavy auto parts shoppers have purchased online in the last year. Infrequent shoppers are far less likely to have purchased online.