It’s no secret: your customers are buying tools online.
Those sales continue to increase too. When we surveyed technicians and shop owners for PTEN’s annual purchasing study, 72 percent of respondents indicated they purchase tools online. That’s a 16 percent increase, year-over-year, compared to the 2015 survey results. PTEN is the sister publication of Professional Distributor.
How can you blame them? The convenience of having a purchase arrive at your doorstep, coupled with the fact these tools are oftentimes the least expensive, is an alluring prospect for consumers.
It’s hard to compete on price when products on Amazon or eBay cost less than what you sometimes pay wholesale for the same item.
But during that same reader survey, respondents also say they still purchase from tool dealers most. Up 11 percent since 2015, the 2016 survey results indicated 89 percent of respondents purchase tools from a mobile tool dealer.
Why is that? The two main factors are: no-interest financing, and service provided after the sale.
Featured in this month’s cover story (page 10), the independent father-son team, Dan Jenkins Sr. and Dan Jenkins Jr., have faced similar challenges when competing with online retailers. How do they handle it?
“If you buy this online, I’m not warrantying it for you,” Jenkins Jr. says, when working with customers who have purchased from a website retailer like Amazon.com. “You’re on your own. I don’t warranty somebody else’s stuff.”
Ultimately, Jenkins Jr. makes sure his customers are aware of the differences in buying from him versus another retail business.
“It comes down to, are they going to warranty it? And, are they going to take payments on it?” says Jenkins Jr. of retail stores and online sites.
“On the service side … they know if they have something wrong with that tool, they can bring it straight back to us and we’ll get it taken care of for them,” he adds.
Be vocal and transparent about your competition, and explain why buying from you is still beneficial. As the landscape continues to shift, it’s important now more than ever to make sure you’re addressing the needs of your customers.
