e-commerce and online tyre business news
Consumers are gearing up to spend more on their next car than they were planning to before confinement began in March. Data from the online car marketplace BuyaCar.co.uk reveals that the average price of cars being reserved for purchase when lockdown is eased has shot up to a record level.
Excel Automotive Group (EAG) has hailed the impact of Origin Software Services after investing in the company’s e-commerce solution to transform the way in which customers utilise EAG’s electronic trading platform.
Motorists have been doing less online pre-sale research related to tyres as a result of the coronavirus, according to Google search data. However, while the lockdown has led to a slowdown in tyre-related search traffic, there are already signs of recovery.
In the USA, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company announced that it will extend the full capabilities of its Commercial Total Solution to carriers of all sizes in Convoy’s Digital Freight Network, in a statement on 9 April 2020. According to the company, Convoy is the first online discount programme Goodyear has offered through its commercial e-commerce platform GoodyearTruckTires.com.
Fixter, an online car maintenance service provider, has published survey results which show that essential businesses, such as independent garages, are valued more than before the crisis. Specifically, 89 per cent of customers who rely on their cars now think that it is more important than ever to keep it in a good condition.
Delticom has named the top-selling tyres sold on its sites, according to a number of different criteria. The rankings are based on Europe-wide sales from Delticom’s online B2B shops, such as Yourtyres.co.uk in the UK – across all brands and categories.
Evidence from a number of market research sources concurs – increasing numbers of motorists are choosing all-season tyres for their cars. The first indication came from GfK data, which compared the percentage growth of all-season tyre sales reported by its UK panelmarket (in terms of volume and value) in 2018 with seasonal tyre sales during 2019. Winter tyre sales volumes were down 1 per cent last year. During the same period, winter tyre values fell three times faster (down 3 per cent).
UKTV has invested in online car repair marketplace Clickmechanic.com using its multi-million pound investment fund, UKTV Ventures. The online start-up, which allows motorists to get quick online quotes and book pre-vetted mechanics, has secured £1 million worth of commercial airtime across the broadcaster’s network of channels. ClickMechanic’s real-time, online quoting engine is the first of its kind in Europe and empowers users to get the best deal possible and ensure they pay a fair price.
What Car? has launched a new television advert as part of its ongoing strategy to connect Britain’s new car buyers to its growing network of trusted dealers.
The advert – which debuts on 30 December – is What Car?’s first-ever television campaign and forms part of a larger media rollout that also includes paid social content, display and print advertising throughout the first three months of 2020.
Startup Europe Partnership (SEP), an initiative by the European Commission, has distinguished Fiege as an Open Innovation Challenger. Having first achieved this standard a year ago, Fiege is being distinguished for the second time in a row. The annual ranking also includes multinationals like Google, Nestlé and Bridgestone. Next to Fiege, a further three German enterprises were distinguished: Bosch, Daimler, and SAP.
Busy distributors with frequent orders of tyre inflation and compressed air products have given PCL’s new online portal the seal of approval. The easy to navigate system at www.pcl-online.com allows distributors to log in to their account and place bulk and one-off orders for next day delivery, removing the need for lengthy, time-consuming emails listing each item by part number.
Goodyear has launched a direct to consumer online tyre retail solution in the European market. The roll-out begins with a pilot project in Germany. The direct-to-consumer approach is said to be in addition to existing distribution channels. Based at goodyear.com/shop, the site aims to “seamlessly plan the purchase from choosing the right tyre to assembling with a local trading partner”.
Seven years after the initial introduction of the European Tyre Label, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have decided on the next phase of the European Tyre Label, which is set to be introduced on 1 May 2021. Article 14 of the agreement requires a review of the regulation by June 2025.
In October Halfords Group bought troubled online tyre retailer Tyres on the Drive for £746,000, but the company had previously valued the business at as much as £150 million.
Less than a year after Tirescanner.com was founded, at the start of November, the business reported that it is live in Florida. This means Tirescanner already covers 1200 postcodes codes, matching consumers with products from a range of hundreds of thousands of tyres and – crucially – connecting them with “the best local retailers”. At the moment this works on a next day install, but the plan is to take this to a same-day level. And more states are said to be coming fast. We’re used to pretty rapid progress when it comes to dotcom start-ups, but such fast growth is more understandable when you consider that Tirescanner is driven by Blackcircles.com founder Mike Welch. Tyres & Accessories recently caught up with Welch in order to find out how the company plans to continue and sustain this growth.
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