Internet Retailing accounted for 15 percent of car audio aftermarket sales in 2010 in the U.S., according to Euromonitor International.
Internet sales rose rapidly between 2005 and 2008 and then growth began to level off. In 2005, Internet sales comprised 5.5 percent of aftermarket sales, growing to 14.5 percent in 2008. The sales pace then slowed and sales hit 15.1 percent in 2010, said Euromonitor, which is compiling a report that will estimate more recent sales, it said.
By contrast specialists in car audio (including electronics and appliance specialists who stock the products) have declined from a total of 78.2 percent of the business in 2005 to less than 57 percent in 2010. (See chart below).
Some of the leading online retailers include the following:
Crutchfield –estimated sales of $70 million in 2009 including catalog sales, according to TWICE, via research from The Stevenson Company.
Sonic Electronix— annual sales of $30 million in 2010
Onlinecarstereo –estimated sales of $6-8 million (industry sources)
WoofersEtc—estimated sales of $4 million (industry sources)
Onlinecarstereo and WoofersEtc did not respond to CEoutlook inquiries.
The Consumer Electronics Association notes that of those who purchased audio or video equipment in the past 12 months (as of 2011):
21% shopped at an online retailers’ website, such as BestBuy.com or Target.com
15% shopped at an online auction site, such as eBay.com
11% shopped at a manufacturer’s website such as Apple.com or Dell.com
10% shopped at an online free classified ad website such as Craigslist.com
Source: CEoutlook
Photo via reallynatural.com
yeah. let the internet install the product too.