Bob Ulrich

Editor

Bob Ulrich was named Modern Tire Dealer editor in August 2000. He joined the magazine in 1985 as assistant editor, and has been responsible for gathering statistical information for MTD's "Facts Issue" since 1993. He has won numerous awards for editorial and feature writing, including five gold medals from the International Automotive Media Association. Bob earned a B.A. in English literature from Ohio Northern University and has a law degree from the University of Akron.

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Just how important is the Internet to tire sales? K&M Tire knows

By: Bob Ulrich

How much does the Internet really affect retail tire sales? K&M Tire Inc., a large regional wholesale distributor based in Delphos, Ohio, thinks it’s a lot.

Of course, you can use the Internet to buy tires from your wholesaler. K&M’s retail customers purchase 41% of their tires online using the K&M Toolbox. And at the 2012 K&M Tire Dealer Trade Show in Las Vegas, Nev., Jan. 18-20, the company told its dealers that it will soon launch its updated, more user-friendly website.

However, it also plans to focus a lot of time and money on online marketing, with the goal to help both its retail customers and Mr. Tire franchise dealers.

There are 278 Mr. Tire dealers in 17 states. Jeff Wallick, program and marketing manager for K&M, said the company wants to increase that total to 403 stores in the next 12 months.

Wallick and Bonnie Marlow, assistant program and marketing manager, shared the following online retail statistics with those in attendance.

* Online retail sales in the U.S. will reach nearly $200 billion this year, an increase of 12% compared to 2010.

* Online retail sales in 2015 will reach $279 billion (Forrester Research Inc.).

* Retail e-sales represented $167.4 billion or 4.3% of total U.S. retail sales in 2010 (U.S. Census Bureau).

According to Wallick, 4% of all tires are sold online. “We expect that to double and triple in the next few years.”

Overall, 75% to 85% of all tires purchased are researched online, he added.

What about branding on the web? Based on a 2010 Nielsen survey, premium online video is superior to television advertising in general recall, brand recall (50% to 28%), message recall and likeability (see chart; online video bars are in green).

Wallick added that more than 80% of Americans use a social network, and 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations often found on social networking sites. So to help its dealers, K&M is going to become, well, more sociable, too.

Related Topics: ecommerce, Internet, Jeff Wallick, K&M Tire, Mr. Tire

comments

1. Brian | May 01, 2012 at 06:57AM
   Anyone who ignores the internet is crazy. It's not going away and in a mature industry such as ours, growth can be had online.
   
   Brian Jones
   
   VP Marketing
   
   www.kenjones.com