From the Magazine: Closing the online trust gap

Canadian distributors and retailers need to do more to win e-commerce customers

One of the first things I read this year was Roland Berger’s annual Automotive Aftermarket Pulse report. The consulting firm’s survey-based global study offers valuable insights into the current state and future direction of the industry. But its findings on the state of online parts commerce stood out the most for me.

Globally, B2C purchases of parts have declined by 5 per cent in 2025, from 56 per cent the previous year to 51 per cent. More consumers are also now unwilling to buy online — the share jumped from 20 per cent to 25 per cent. The “trust gap” in e-commerce is more pronounced in Western economies compared to developing countries such as Brazil and China. 

In Canada, 43 per cent of survey respondents say they have purchased parts online. But of these, 11 per cent would never buy again. There’s an additional 26 per cent that claim that they have never bought online and don’t intend to do so in the future — bringing the total of naysayers to 37 per cent. But Canadians trust their e-commerce sources more than buyers in the U.S. and Germany (among other European countries). That’s a surprising finding given that most countries are far ahead in the digital aftermarket curve than Canada.

On the flipside, there are fewer commercial online buyers in Canada. Only 58 per cent shops bought more than one-fifth of their parts online in 2025, compared to 82 per cent in the U.S. and 84 per cent in Germany. Similarly, 58 per cent of Canadian garages expect to increase online purchases in the next two to three years. In comparison, 78 per cent in the U.S. expected to grow their B2B e-commerce orders.

These findings from the report present a sobering reality: E-commerce in the Canadian aftermarket has moved past the era of “growth at any cost” and entered an era of “trust at any cost.” Here are five strategies that distributors and retailers can develop over the next five years to win the confidence of Canadian buyers — both DIYers and commercial customers:

 The end of ‘universal fit’

The number one driver of the “trust gap” is the fear of receiving the wrong part. In Canada, where vehicle sub-models can vary significantly due to “winter packages” or regional specs, generic fitment data isn’t enough. E-retailers must move toward VIN-level and license plate lookup tools. By integrating directly with provincial registries or OEM databases, retailers can offer a “fitment guarantee.” If the site confirms a part fits your specific VIN and it doesn’t, the return should be automatic and free.

These findings from the report present a sobering reality: E-commerce in the Canadian aftermarket has moved past the era of “growth at any cost” and entered an era of “trust at any cost.”

Transparency in content

The “trust gap” in Western economies often stems from a fear of counterfeit or substandard “white-box” parts. Distributors should leverage their established “brick-and-mortar” reputations to vouch for their digital inventory. For instance, product listings could include some form of certification — clearly labelling whether a part is OEM, Tier-1 Aftermarket, or Economy, alongside its warranty length. By educating the consumer on why one brake pad costs $40 and another $120, sellers can build intellectual trust rather than just competing on price.

Going ‘Phygital’

Canadians often trust local sources more than pure e-tailers because a physical store is a place where you can voice a grievance. The most successful Canadian e-retailers will be those that offer buy online,return in-store (BORIS) through partnerships with local jobbers or banners like Bumper to Bumper or NAPA. Knowing that a digital purchase can be physically exchanged at a counter down the street removes the “black hole” anxiety of shipping a heavy alternator back to a warehouse in another province.

Removing friction

For the 42 per cent of Canadian garages with minimal online purchases, the barrier is often the “friction of the interface.” Distributors must move beyond simple catalogues to integrated shop management systems.

Here’s a potential workflow: When a technician scans a car’s VIN in the bay, the system should automatically populate the online cart with live local inventory and a ‘hot-shot’ delivery countdown (e.g., arriving in 30 mins). Trust in B2B is built onreliability and predictability. If a distributor’s digital platform can accurately predict delivery times, shops will abandon the phone in favour of the screen.

By educating the consumer on why one brake pad costs $40 and another $120, sellers can build intellectual trust rather than just competing on price.

Content-as-a-service

Finally, distributors must close the knowledge gap. Many DIYers shy away from online buying because they aren’t sure they can complete the job. High-trust retailers can embed installation-degree-of-difficulty ratings and Canadian-specific DIY content (e.g., “How to change these struts in a high-corrosion environment”) directly on the product page.

For industry stakeholders, Canada’s ‘laggard’ status is an opportunity for differentiation and competitive edge. By skipping the mistakes of the marketplace model and building a digital ecosystem rooted in local reliability and fitment precision, Canadian distributors can turn the naysayers into loyal, lifelong digital customers.

Kumar Saha is Vice President (U.S.)/managing director (Canada) of global automotive data firm Eucon. He has been advising the North American automotive industry for over a decade and is a frequent conference speaker and media commentator. He is based out of Toronto.

This article originally appeared in the January issue of Jobber News