In the past few years, there has been a huge rise in the number of online stores and platforms that sell auto parts and accessories. When they see how profitable it is, more traditional stores are starting to sell online.
Also, the COVID-19 pandemic had a big and good effect on the auto parts industry. It pushed businesses to start selling online, which was a good thing. Statista’s research shows that this trend will continue to grow, and that the whole industry will triple by the end of 2027.
Lucky for us, this is happening at a time when more people are starting to shop online. People today use new technologies and want to be able to place orders from anywhere and have their goods sent to them.
Even though there has been a lot of growth and more people are shopping online, most people in the online auto parts industry are not yet ready to take advantage of this. The reason for this is that they don’t know what to do or where to start. In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know to sell auto parts online.
Know your car parts: What are you selling?
This might seem like one of the easiest things to do, but you need to know your car parts and why you choose to work with those parts. For example, do you want to sell every kind of auto part, or would it be better to focus on just a few?
If you know about the auto parts you want to sell, it will be easy to set up your store or online platform. You’ll also be able to give your customers a platform that is well-organized and easy to use, which makes for a good user experience (UX).
You need a good user experience to get more people to talk about your auto parts and to sell more of them. You can choose to sell the following auto parts online:
Suspension and wheels include things like struts, shocks, hubcaps, and tires.
Suspension and wheels are also outside parts of a car, but it takes a lot more work to put them on than other outside parts.
Most of your customers for these auto parts might be other businesses, so you need to make sure your online platform meets all the requirements of a B2B eCommerce platform.
Side mirrors, grills, and bumpers, among other things, are on the outside.
These are some of the best parts for your car. If you look at other sites like AliExpress, you’ll see that they are some of the auto parts that move the most quickly. One reason for this is that they are easy to install compared to things like wheels and suspensions.
If you want to take care of these external parts, you can choose between OEM replacements or upgrades from the aftermarket. The fit of these parts is easy to figure out, which means that they are easy to work with.
Wrenches and Jacks are tools.
You can also choose to focus on tools that are heavy or light, like wrenches and jacks. The good news is that you can sell these parts to both other businesses and individual customers.
Internals include, among other things, the cylinders, transmission, and spark plugs.
Even though the market for internal auto parts isn’t as big as the market for external auto parts, it’s still big enough for your business to be successful.
Just like with the wheels and suspensions, most of your customers will need the help of a mechanic to install the parts inside their cars. Also, these parts are fragile, so they might need special packaging when they are shipped.
If you decide to specialize in selling internal auto parts, make sure you do enough research to find the best shipping companies and wrapping materials.
Learn how important it is to fit or go together
Fitments or compatibility is one of the most important things you need to include in all of your listings for auto parts, no matter what they are. Fitting well and getting along well are the same thing.
They know how to talk about the year, model, make, engine, and other details of the car for which the auto parts you sell online will work. You can also talk about things like trimming, sub-modeling, and the motor.
Some of the best-known platforms, like eBay and AliExpress, are very strict about what fits or works with what. This is why you should add eBay fitment data or fitment data for any other platform you use. It is also necessary when building an eCommerce website.
Also, when it comes to selling auto parts online, some of these well-known online platforms are very competitive. You need to make sure that your auto parts are optimized with fitment data and filters so that customers can find them when they search.
Most people’s biggest worry when buying an auto part online is whether or not the part they found online will fit in their car. This means that you need to do more than just optimize your products so that they can be found. You also need to make sure that your customers can find the exact auto part they are looking for.
This can only be done by giving fitment information for your auto parts. When a customer uses certain filters to look for a product, your auto parts will show up in the search results. This makes the customer experience better and increases the number of sales.
How to Do Things Right When Selling Auto Parts Online
Good pictures of car parts
To get a customer to buy from you, you need to make sure your auto parts look trustworthy and professional. If you decide to sell auto parts on a site like AliExpress, make sure you take the right photos of your items.
You need the right filters and lighting to take auto-part photos. This doesn’t mean you should hire a professional photographer to take the pictures for you. You can take photos that stand out from those of your competitors with a modern smartphone and some basic photography skills.
Product descriptions and headlines that work well
You need to convince your customers that they are on the right platform and buying from the right supplier, in addition to having good photos of your products. You can do this by writing product descriptions and headlines that are well-written and catchy.
It’s important to optimize your product descriptions and headlines to make sure that your products get a fair ranking in search engine results and on the platform you choose. Make sure you use the right keywords in headlines and descriptions at all times.
Prices that are fair
Whether you use AliExpress or your own eCommerce site, you should make sure that the prices you set for your products are the best and most competitive ones. This is because most people who look for auto parts online will always go for the right or best deals.
One or two dollars could make the difference between your auto parts online store struggling and doing very well. To do well with competitive pricing, you need to look at how your competitors set their prices and then figure out how to beat them at their own game.
Fitting data that is complete and accurate
As we’ve already talked about, fitment or compatibility data is a key part of how well an online auto parts business does. Without full and accurate fitment data, you will make it hard for your customers to shop with you. This causes more people to leave the site and fewer people to sign up.
In the next few years, selling auto parts online will be a very profitable business. But in order for online businesses that sell auto parts to be successful, their owners need to follow the right steps and best practices.
If you follow the detailed guide we’ve talked about above, you’ll have a chance of beating your competitors, no matter how well-known they are.