Lang Aftermarket iReport: Over $7 billion shift among ‘Do-It-Yourself’ outlets

“Do-It-Yourself (DIFM) outlet strength is being realigned across the car and light truck aftermarket by three major forces: the changing mix of foreign and domestic nameplates on U.S. roads, the growing technical complexity of vehicle repair, and changes in the competitive strength of major DIFM outlet groups.

“These forces (and others) have created more than a $7 billion shift in 2019 repair volume (parts and labor) among the seven leading groups of DIFM outlets in the U.S. light vehicle repair market.”

— Jim Lang, publisher, Lang Aftermarket iReport

Over $7 Billion Shift Among DIFM Outlets

Lang Marketing estimates that over $7 billion of parts and labor (purchased service) shifted among the major light vehicle Do-It-Yourself (DIFM) outlet groups during 2019, at user-price.

This resulted from changes in the car and light truck product and labor share of major outlet groups as well as the organic aftermarket parts and labor growth (and loss) within each major DIFM outlet group.

DIFM Winners and Losers

Winners and losers in the DIFM market are determined largely by three forces: the changing mix of foreign and domestic nameplates on U.S. roads, the increasing technical complexity of vehicle repair, and the changing competitive strength of DIFM outlets.

Biggest DIFM Outlet Winners

Four repair outlet groups captured the largest segments of the more than $7 billion 2019 DIFM volume shift: Vehicle Dealers, Repair Specialists, Service Stations & Garages, and Foreign Specialists.

Vehicle Dealers

Vehicle Dealers accounted for 28% of the over $7 billion parts and labor shift in 2019 DIFM outlet sales.

Lang Marketing estimates that Vehicle Dealers added more than $2.1 billion of 2019 parts and labor. This is a reversal of the long decline in Dealer vehicle repair volume that began with the 2008 Great Recession and continued for over five years.

Repair Specialists

Repair Specialists (outlets focusing on a limited array of vehicle repair) represented nearly one-quarter of the more than $7 billion parts and labor shift in 2019 DIFM outlet volume. Lang Marketing estimates that over $1.8 billion of 2019 parts and labor was added by Repair Specialists.

Service Stations & Garages

Operating the largest number of light vehicle repair outlets, Service Stations & Garages achieved the third strongest DIFM 2019 product and labor (purchased service) increase. Lang Marketing estimates that Service Stations & Garages topped $1.6 billion in parts and labor gains at user-price, over 20% of the total 2019 DIFM shift.

Foreign Specialists

Focusing on foreign nameplate repair and maintenance, Foreign Specialists achieved the strongest DIFM 2019 percentage increase in parts and labor sales.

However, reflecting their smaller outlet population (compared to Service Stations & Garages and Repair Specialists) Foreign Specialists ranked fourth with the size of their 2019 sales gain, which totaled more than $1.2 billion.

Other Outlets Increase in Sales

Tire Stores accounted for approximately $800 million of the DIFM parts and labor shift during 2019, and Discount Stores/Mass Merchandisers with bays recorded approximately $300 million in parts and labor increases during the year.

Outlets Losing Ground

Auto Parts Stores with bays declined in 2019 car and light truck DIFM parts and labor, as their market share shrank.

Product and Labor Volume Shift

Car and light truck products accounted for approximately 43% of the 2019 volume shift among light vehicle repair outlets; while labor (purchased service) represented approximately 57% of the more than $7 billion DIFM outlet volume shift.

Six Major Takeaways

• More than $7 billion of DIFM parts and labor (purchased service) volume shifted among the seven major light vehicle DIFM outlet groups during 2019.
• Vehicle Dealers were first in DIFM 2019 volume gain, expanding their parts and labor sales over $2.1 billion.
• Repair Specialists (outlets focusing on a limited array of vehicle repair) captured approximately one-quarter of the more than $7 billion DIFM parts and labor shift during 2019.
• Service Stations & Garages ranked third in DIFM outlet shift, accounting for approximately 20% of the more than $7 billion parts and labor change.
• Foreign Specialists (outlets focusing on the repair and maintenance of foreign nameplates) recorded the largest percentage increase in parts and labor volume during 2019, but because of their smaller size, they ranked fourth in overall volume shift at $1.2 billion.
• See the all-new just-released 2021 Lang Aftermarket Annual for complete details of volume changes by all major types of DIFM outlets, with a ten-year view of the product and labor annual performances of each outlet group.

Copyright 2020 by Lang Marketing Resources, Inc.

NOTE: Special thanks to publisher Jim Lang for granting us permission to publish the Lang Aftermarket iReport.