Auto Care Insider Volume 93 - 11

Internet seller

Catalog

2013
2014
2015

Hardware retailer
2

Tool jobber/warehouse
distributor
Catalog

2013
2014
2015

Hardware retailer

Concerns Over Purchasing Tools
Over The Internet, 2013 - 2015
(All Respondents)

$1,
00

0
10

Return Policy

Concerns Over Tool Purchasing Decisions
2
3
5
Dollar Amount generates 4
The impersonal nature of online shopping Initiating uncertainty
Information Research
and concerns about return policy, warranty, fast delivery, etc. Tool
Concerns Over Purchasing Tools
purchasing decision-makers expressed Internet, 2013 - 2015 about not
a growing concern
Over The Less t
0
h
,0 0
(All purchasedan $
being able to return a product3theyRespondents) online, as this factor
-$
was rated 3.90 out of a possible 5.00. Their worries were not only
Return 22.9% 17.5%
Policy
limited to a company's return policy, but also to warranty (3.76 mean)
and fast product delivery (3.67 mean). Concern over return policy
Warranty
was acute among service mangers (3.98 mean) and parts managers
(3.92 mean). Conversely, not being able to demo a product (2.97
Fast Delivery
mean) was less of a concern to all59.6%
respondents. A company's return
policy has supplanted warranty as this year's top issue of concern
Brand Selection
of all online tool purchasers. (Respondents were asked to rate their
$
concerns over Internet Lowestpurchases. $ 5 0 0
tool price 1 0 0 - The mean ratings were based
2013
on a 5-point scale, where 1=not concerned and 5=very concerned.)
2014

Warranty
Fast Delivery
Brand Selection
Lowest price
2013
2014

Unable to demo product

2015

Unable to demo product

Factors Influencing Tools Purchasing
Decisions, 2013 - 2015
(All Respondents)

Overall Factors Influencing
Tool Purchasing Decisions
The 2015 report confirms previous survey results
Fast delivery/availability
that warranty remains the most important influential
Strong brand name
factor in any tool purchasing decision. According to
Made in
the toolUSA
purchasers, when it comes to purchasing
Availability from my primarywarranty takes precedence over advertising/
decisions, source
Recommendation by promotions, seller's recommendation, etc. Fast
other tech/
shop owner/blog
delivery (4.06) and a strong brand name (4.05) were
Low price
also highly rated as influential factors. Additionally,
2013
Recommendation by seller
warranty was the top rated factor among all job types.
2014
Advertising or promotion rated 4.63 by service managers, 4.60
2015
Warranty was
2
3
4
5
by technicians and owners, respectively and 4.44 by
parts managers. (Respondents rated the importance
of selected factors influencing their tool purchasing
decisions. The mean ratings were based on a 5-point
scale, where 1 = not important and 5 = very important.)

0
$1,
00

3,0

Le s s

th a

22.9% 17.5%

59.6%
$ 10

0 - $500

0
10

Factors Influencing Tools Purchasing
Decisions, 2013 - 2015
(All Respondents)

Warranty

Dollar Amount Initiating
Information Research

2015

Warranty
Fast delivery/availability
Strong brand name
Made in USA
Availability from my primary source
Recommendation by other tech/
shop owner/blog
Low price
2013
2014
2015

Recommendation by seller
Advertising or promotion
2

Dollar Amount and Tool Information Research
Before conducting an online information research, tool purchasers pay particular
attention to the tool prices. The data suggests that the more expensive a tool price, the
least likely respondents are to seek online information. Nearly three-fifths of respondents
(59.6 percent) researched information on tools when prices were as low as $100 and as
high as $500. Conversely, when tool prices ranged between $1,000 and $3,000, only
one in five respondents (22.9 percent) embarked on online research. Only 17.5 percent
researched online information when tool prices were below $100. The percentage of
respondents seeking information when prices ranged between $100 and $500 increased
to 59.6 percent in 2015 from 58.6 percent in 2014. However, this increase is offset by
an 8.4 percent decrease in the number who sought information for tool prices between
$1,000 and $3,000. In 2014, 31.3 percent compared to 22.9 percent of respondents in
2015, researched the Internet for information on tool prices between $1,000 and $3,000.

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Auto Care Insider Volume 93

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Auto Care Insider Volume 93