Technicians use an average of two suppliers for product purchasing, yet the majority of respondents report buying 76 to 100 percent of products from their primary, preferred supplier, according to the results of Aftermarket Business' seventh annual Technician Attitude Study.

Auto parts retailers, jobbers and warehouse distributors (WDs) are the most common suppliers for technicians, with WDs named the preferred choice overall. But parts availability, not brand, had the strongest impact on technicians' supplier preference, the study shows.

Brand is the primary influence for respondent purchases, less than 25 percent of which are made online, but parts availability takes a close second and may be more impactful than respondents realize.

A majority of technicians report their customers rarely ask for specific product brands during service or repairs and heed their recommendation or preference. Parts availability is key, and likewise, most technicians would remain clients with their supplier even if it dropped their current preferred product brand.

Instead of switching suppliers to maintain brand loyalty, technicians would switch brands within their existing supplier, according to the study results.

While supplier loyalty comes easy for respondents, holding margins marks technicians' biggest challenge this year, according to respondents — who on average are just over 50 years old and most commonly operate one to three shops. One-third of survey participants are working to obtain new customers, making it the most important business initiative for 2009.