A new tool to help the automotive aftermarket identify trends has been released by the NPD Group. The company, a leading market research firm, now offers suspension category point-of-sale (POS) information from all nine automotive specialty retailers and wholesale distributors in the Aftermarket Industry Monitor® (AAIM).
The suspension category POS information includes the subcategories of general, lift supports, ride control, specialty and springs and by segment — shocks, struts, torque arms, ball joints, springs and more.
"The auto aftermarket can use the suspension and other hard parts sales information tracked by NPD's Aftermarket Industry Monitor to gauge the size of a category and identify trends," says David Portalatin, director of industry analysis, The NPD Group. "We designed the hard parts information to provide a clear view of the marketplace with detail down to the segment and attribute levels."
In 2007, NPD began re-releasing hard parts point-of-sale (POS) information, with cooperation from the nine AAIM panel companies and in collaboration with the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association's Category Management Committee. In addition to the suspension category sales, NPD hard parts POS data includes cooling, brakes, batteries, fuel systems, filters and rotating electrical categories. Several more categories, including steering, will roll out in the months ahead.
For more information about the NPD group, visit its Web site.
