A Case Study in Automotive B2C Ecommerce
Client Testimonial:
“Sound Press has been an invaluable partner to help us get started in direct b2c ecommerce. Thanks to their work integrating catalog, inventory, and pricing data with our website, we’re now able to allow customers to look up parts for their vehicles online, for pickup at any one of our 80+ locations, which has notably increased our reach and profit.”
-Michael Massara, Manager PartSource Digital
In 2018, PartSource (a division of Canadian Tire), decided they needed to improve their digital presence by enhancing the partsource.ca website experience. Before this, partsource.ca was a static page, showcasing some of the weekly offers on a pdf. The goal was to build a fully functioning interactive website with products, inventory, and the ability to Reserve Online and Pick up in-store. With a network of 80+ stores, they had a strong local presence in many areas, but no ability to allow their customers to take better advantage of that local presence through technology.
Bringing a website into the equation would allow PartSource to provide reserve online / pickup in-store capabilities. This takes the convenience of ordering online – being able to search a full catalog of available parts, finding what you need 24/7, comparing pricing, and easily viewing which parts fit your vehicle – and add to it the speed of local pickup. The local pickup option in particular allows PartSource to better compete with other online options that only offer shipping which can increase both the cost and time to receive parts that are often critically needed for their customers.
PartSource had previously used WHI Solution’s catalog for their b2b business, allowing repair shops and other b2b customers to order online. However, that catalog was restricted behind a login for those approved B2B customers. When speaking with WHI about the possibility of bringing that industry-leading catalog data out to be used for a public b2c website, WHI recommended Sound Press as a long-time partner in both b2b and b2c.
By integrating WHI’s industry-leading catalog data with Sound Press’s digital marketing and website development services, businesses such as PartSource have been able to offer personalized product recommendations, implement targeted marketing campaigns, and provide a seamless checkout process. This integration has proven instrumental in driving customer acquisition, retention, and overall sales growth in the B2C segment.
Good data drives traffic via Search Engine Optimization, as well as better conversion rates when customers can feel confident they are getting the right part for the right job. Getting this SEO data right was important to PartSource. It is an ongoing effort to ensure potential customers can find partsource.ca easily when looking for parts, and once they land on that site, they can quickly find what they need with confidence it will fit their vehicle.
In addition to connecting with WHI to source their catalog and fitment data, Sound Press has helped to build connections between partsource.ca and internal PartSource data systems to provide data on pricing and inventory for every part at every store. Customers can find what is in stock that day at their local store, making sure they can get the part they need and aren’t disappointed after making a trip to the store. They can then reserve those parts directly through the website for pickup in store.
After the website launched, Sound Press and PartSource have continually worked to add more data and enhanced services to the website. For example, positioning data allows a customer to know if a wiper blade fits the passenger side, driver side, or rear window of their particular vehicle. This is an ongoing partnership that has allowed PartSource to greatly enhance its digital presence and better serve its customers for several years, and will only continue to grow in the future.