ONLINE SALES

ing. In fact, 48% of all U.S. e-commerce transactions in the fourth quarter of 2015 came from repeat visitors, according to marketing firm Monetate. One way to attract repeat customers is by offering a small gift or token of appreciation for the purchase, and one that can pay handsome dividends. This simple gesture can make you memorable, get cus- tomers familiar with your brand and separate you from other sellers.

It can be something low-cost and tangible, such as a mini LED flashlight or a 10% off coupon. Or it can be even more basic, such as a handwritten note that says “Thank you for buying from us. We appreciate your business!” Either way, it represents an incentive to pur- chase from you again. There’s no doubt: e-commerce is an outstanding way to sell more parts. Like any other worthwhile endeavor, successfully mastering it – and enjoying the sales that come with it – takes hard work, patience and attention to detail.

SOURCES

Paragraph 4 – 14.6% 2015 over 2014: www.internetretailer.com/2016/02/17/ us-e-commerce-grows-146-2015

Paragraph 5 – 46% of online shopping: Ferrazzo presentation at ARA convention, Increase Your Profits by Selling Online

Paragraph 8 – 14 million unique visitors; 3 parts/second: Ferrazzo presentation at ARA convention, Increase Your Profits by Selling Online Paragraph 13 – 48% of e-commerce transactions: www.businessinsider.com/ e-commerce-report-shows-returning-customers-are-more-valuable-than- new-ones-2016-3

Car-Part.com Offers User-Friendly Solutions By Janice Schroder, Car-Part.com

ar-Part.com has helped recyclers sell parts on-line for the past 20 years, successfully serving over 11 million part searches a month. The addition of part and vehicle images have spiked sales for recyclers. Matt Bender, Speedy Auto Parts, Dover, OH, had a story. Matt had just posted a picture of a truck bed. A man saw the picture, then drove all the way from Wisconsin to pick it up! He got a higher price than he would have in his local market and the man paid cash! Professional repairers and estimators, however, need more information. Which parts can be deliv- ered in time to complete a repair? What condition are they in? How can they feel comfortable pur- chasing parts from a recycler they’ve never done business with? Car-PartPro answered these ques- tions and more. It increased part selection by building recyclers’ trading networks into delivery,

C 48 Automotive Recycling | November-December 2016

Recyclers can sell more parts by taking advantage of mobile app offerings.

“MyPartsApp” gives recyclers their own business app complete with their own parts.

presenting part availability based on where it is in the recyclers’ production process, certifying recy- clers and more.

The results: nearly 44,000 professional repairers have signed up for Car-PartPro. It is integrated in Mitchell’s Repair Center©

, where repairers can order

parts and get real-time confirmation that the part is available. Selected parts can be written back into esti- mating systems.

Recyclers can sell more parts by taking advantage of mobile app offerings. “MyPartsApp” gives recyclers their own business app complete with their own parts.

The Car-PartPro app offers repairers and estimators the ability to snap a pic of a VIN to quickly identify parts and a built in GPS automatically finds parts in the area an estimator is working in.

Not Tapped into an Online Parts Network? You’re Leaving Money

on the Table By Peter Bishop, CCC Information Services

L

et’s say you’re a busy collision repair shop owner, and you have choices. You can make a 15-minute phone call or surf numerous web sites to source a recycled part, or you can simply do a quick search in an integrated online database that can provide you price, availability, delivery times, and images of available parts – within a few seconds. What choice do you make? You’re likely going to take the quick online option

if it’s available. And that’s what your customers are doing every day. In recent years, e-commerce solu- tions have brought ease and availability to the recy- cled parts ordering process, and if you’re not tapped into these online resources, it’s a good bet you’re leaving money on the table.

Electronic quoting and ordering help eliminate