Millennials rank Amazon as the most relevant product and service brand, and that position is shaping how the company approaches the automotive aftermarket, according to new research from Lang Marketing.
“Amazon has secured a special place in the minds of Millennials, who rank it as the most relevant product/service brand in the U.S. For Millennials, the significance of Amazon overshadows tech giants like Apple and Google, as well as product/service companies such as Sony, Starbucks, and Nike, to name only a few,” it said in a recent report.
Millennials will form the biggest adult consumer purchasing group over the next 10 years when it comes to aftermarket parts, Land added. “Amazon has a growing, strategic interest in the aftermarket and is aggressively expanding its presence in both the do-it-yourself (DIY) and do-it-for-me (DIFM) sectors.”
Lang observed that brand relevance comes from how well a brand meets consumer needs. For many Millennials, Amazon has been a core part of everyday buying, now expanding into services. Lang Marketing points to Amazon’s product reviews as a key feature, noting that peer-to-peer opinion sharing aligns with Millennial values and makes choices easier compared with traditional in-store channels.
Amazon’s appeal will have significant implications as it targets auto parts across retail and wholesale and extends its online-to-offline (o2o) auto repair model, Lang noted. Millennials already play a large role in DIY parts buying, and a growing number are technicians and shop owners, which increases their influence in the DIFM market. The study reports that Millennial technicians and shop owners buy online differently than older peers and are changing how the internet fits into repair purchases.
Delivery speed has long been a barrier for internet sales in repair work, but Lang argued that o2o scheduling can reduce the need for rapid local parts delivery. Under this model, consumers book repairs online through Amazon’s network, giving time for parts to arrive at the outlet before the appointment.
The approach shifts buying decisions from local outlets to large platforms.
“With its unprecedented position of trust and reliance among Millennials, Amazon is poised to expand its already substantial DIY auto parts sales base and increase its offering of auto repairs (using an o2o model),” Lang said. “Its growing aftermarket foothold has positioned Amazon to gain access to the massive, trillion-dollar mobility market of the future.”
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