Brand names, recommendations influence Hispanic consumers to purchase auto parts

Nov. 6, 2017

Recommendations and brand names are the two most important reasons why Hispanic consumers buy a specific auto part, according to the 2017 Aftermarket Business World Hispanic Consumer Attitude Study.

Bruce Adams

Recommendations and brand names are the two most important reasons that Hispanic consumers buy a specific auto part or product, according to the 2017 Aftermarket Business World Hispanic Consumer Attitude Study.

Those two influencers consistently ranked number one and two when Hispanic consumers were asked for the top five reasons they purchase a particular part or product. Other characteristics that were mentioned include lowest price, performance claim, coupon/rebate and in-store display/attractive packaging.

This year’s study represents a turnaround from the 2016 Aftermarket Business World Hispanic Consumer Attitude Study when lowest price was selected as the top influencer to buy. In last year’s study, brand name finished second and recommendations third.

This year’s study indicates that Hispanic consumers pay close attention to pricing, but they are not motivated to buy by price alone. For example, in three product categories – brakes, auxiliary lighting and engine additives – 95 percent, 93 percent and 78 percent of respective respondents said that they compared prices when shopping for those products. However, this year only 14 percent said they were influenced by lowest price to buy brakes and 17 percent said low price motivated them to buy engine additives. No respondents said they were motivated by lowest price to buy auxiliary lighting this year.

Hispanic consumers prefer by a large margin to purchase auto parts and products from auto chain retail stores. Nearly half of respondents (48 percent) said they purchased brakes at auto chains while 33 percent said they purchased auxiliary lighting and engine additives there. Dealerships, discount stores, independent auto stores and independent repair shops were other primary purchase locations.

Methodology: The Hispanic Consumer Attitude Study was fielded via email as a subset of the larger Aftermarket Business World Consumer Attitude Study. The Hispanic data are from 299 responses within 1,768 overall survey responses. The survey has a +/– 2.1 percent margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level.

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About the Author

Bruce Adams

Bruce Adams is managing editor of Aftermarket Business World magazine and content manager for the distribution channel at UBM Advanstar. He has been an editor with UBM Advanstar Automotive Group since 2007 and formerly was managing editor of ABRN, the collision repair magazine. Bruce is a veteran journalist and communications professional who worked 10 years in corporate communications and publications at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. He also worked as a senior editor at Babcox Publications and as a reporter and columnist for a daily newspaper in Northeast Ohio. He also is a former senior editor of Hotel & Motel Management Magazine.