September 2021 The role of aftermarket third party online platforms, and how they affect the customer-repairer relationship webinar

Many different sectors have seen ‘disruption’ as online platforms have emerged to link customers and providers, bringing choice and transparency for the former, and helping the latter to expand their reach, although sometimes at the cost of squeezed margins.  The automotive aftermarket has been no exception, with platforms across the different European markets offering customers the ability to receive and compare quotes for service and repair jobs, evaluate available repairers, and then make a booking.

The online operators themselves have encountered mixed fortunes; some have achieved steady growth on both ‘sides’ of their platform (customers and repairers), but others have quit, having failed to build lasting momentum before exhausting their venture capital funding.  Looking ahead, the platforms also face potential storm clouds on the horizon due to the overall decline of aftermarket demand, and also to the growth of various forms of ‘managed aftersales’ limiting the driver’s free choice of repairer.

In this webinar, we looked at these trends, and also at how the leading third party platforms are evolving their business models in response.  We were also very pleased to welcome back Al Preston, co-founder of Whocanfixmycar.com, as our guest speaker.  Whocanfixmycar.com, founded in 2011, is the UK’s leading aftermarket platform, generating almost 7 million service and repair quotes per year on behalf of its 15,500 repairer ‘members’.  Many of you will remember Al from his presentation at our 2016 Spring Meeting in Berlin – 5 years is a very long time in the online world, and so it was interesting to hear how the business has evolved, and how it plans to face the future aftermarket challenges.

Both Andrew and Al’s presentations can be downloaded below, Andrew’s includes speaking notes.