BETHESDA, Md. (Dec. 12, 2013) — The Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) has commissioned a new research study to measure online retail markets for sales of aftermarket parts and accessories.
IMR Inc. and The Martec Group will perform the study for AAIA, which is in the process of rebranding itself and early next year will be known as the Autocare Association.
“While e-tailing is the fastest-growing retail sector in the automotive aftermarket, and becoming a significant revenue stream for auto parts sales, little solid data exists on the size and makeup of this channel,” AAIA said in a press release.
“This new project will serve as the foundation for AAIA to provide a unified estimate of online sales within the aftermarket,” it said.
The Bethesda-based trade group has four broad objectives for the project:
• To provide a comprehensive picture of the size of the online retail parts market;
• To explain trends in auto parts e-tailing;
• To set a baseline to compare against future industry growth; and
• To provide benchmarks for AAIA member companies to determine their share of the online retail market.