2012 Specialty Product Study

Focusing on specialty product sales can give your bottom line a double boost, resellers are reporting. When customers purchase specialty products, one-third of resellers report they are "likely" to also purchase related products; another almost 20 percent are either "very likely" or "guaranteed" to make additional purchases, according to the results of the Aftermarket Business World Specialty Product Study.

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When making specialty product purchases, quality and availability are the most important customer considerations, with warranty having the least impact on buying decisions.

Approximately 40 percent of reseller respondents say that purchasing specialty products from a full-line supplier is important. Resellers argue these suppliers have parts that are more readily available, their customers demand quality products and this is the best way to support a healthy distribution chain.

Specialty sales results have primarily held steady or improved throughout 2011, respondents say, and 2012 is expected to return continued strong sales, or even improvements. The same can be said for gross margins, which either held steady or saw an increase of 1 to 5 percent, and are expected to return similar results this year.

METHODOLOGY: The Aftermarket Business World Specialty Product Study was fielded via email to specialty parts resellers who are also readers.

Click here for full study results.