Auto Dealer Monthly Magazine is the daily operations publication serving the retail automotive industry. This automotive publication serves dealer principals, officers and general managers with the latest best practices.
Issue link: http://autodealermonthly.epubxp.com/i/117504
Thank You For Voting PA R T S A ND AC CE S S ORIE S A Top Special Finance Lead Provider! Why CarsDirect? ��� Seven-time Dealers��� Choice Awards winner ��� New, Used & Special Finance Advertising Solutions ��� 100+ Automotive Websites ��� 35+ Million Monthly Visits Start growing with CarsDirect today! connect.carsdirect.com 80 800-260-5857 One of the key tools fueling accessory sales at Knoxville Toyota is AddOnAuto���s web-based selling system, which offers a virtual confgurator so customers can see how their vehicles look when accessorized. man notes, with Venchurs doing whatever it takes to accommodate dealers there, including ofering those previously mentioned options. It will even ofer to have vehicles shipped to its Michigan headquarters to have a package installed. ���We try to work with the dealer and what���s in their wheelhouse,��� Merriman says. Dealers also are embracing technology to help sell accessories within their stores, including AddOnAuto, a division of izmocars.com. AddOnAuto provides an in-store, web-based program that includes a virtual confgurator so customers can see how their vehicles will look when accessorized. Te solution also links up parts departments with suppliers, as well as tracks sales. ���Tere���s nothing better than checking out a vehicle tricked out with everything, but you can���t do it with every vehicle,��� says Sidney Haider, president of AddOnAuto. ���Dealerships will need to get into this process in our opinion.��� PROTECTION REIGNS SUPREME Haider likened the automobile industry to the cell phone industry, noting that telecoms aren���t making money on the phone, but on accessories and minutes. ���Dealers don���t make money on new cars, they have to go in this direction if they want to survive and make money,��� he says. 22 AUTO DE ALE R MONTHLY ��� APRIL 2013 In February, Haider���s company released its annual Auto Accessories Trend Report, which looked at 2012 nationwide sales data and ranked the top-selling accessories by volume, revenue and proft. Protection products were far and away the top-sellers at the dealerships, with paint protection and antithef/recovery products listed as No. 1 and 2, respectively, for both revenue and proft. By volume, foor mats, factory exterior and body side moldings led the way. Haider says customers also favor splash guards and window tint. Te report was based on sales data from a sampling of 150 dealerships that utilize the AddOnAuto solution. Te dealerships surveyed sold more than $56 million in accessories last year, Haider says. New-car buyers using the AddOnAuto system spend about $1,000 on accessories at the point of purchase, a common amount throughout the country, Haider says. Te top-sellers vary a bit regionally, with purchasers in larger cities favoring paint protection and body side molding, while all-season foor mats are more popular in the Midwest and Mountain states. AddOnAuto tracks the time of each presentation and has found the average accessories presentation takes about six to 10 minutes, Haider shares. John Moore, accessory/personalization