How much of a threat is Amazon?

Jobbers looking for growth among the young shopper segment are facing a mammoth competitor: Amazon.

The online shopping behemoth has long been seen as a threat. But a new report is warning that future customers of the aftermarket will likely turn to the retailer before their local option.

The report Millennials Put Amazon in Driver’s Seat from Lang Marketing observed that Millennials revere the platform. American Millennials ranked it as the most relevant product/service brand, ahead of Apple, Google, Nike and Starbucks, to name a few.

“Amazon’s top ranking among Millennials has significant implications for its future sales of automotive parts and repairs,” Lang’s report said. “Amazon has shown a growing interest in the aftermarket as a foothold for gaining access to the massive, trillion-dollar mobility market of the future.”

Millennials range in age from their early 20s to early 40s. Lang noted that Millennials will be the key generation driving the economy for the next 20 years. Baby Boomers will soon fade from the scene and Generation Z consumers await the ability to gain economic traction.

Relevance in the market is the top factor in pegging a brand’s success and impact, Lang observed.

“Millennials have grown up with Amazon, and it has become their go-to buying source for all kinds of goods and, increasingly, services,” it added. “As digital natives, Millennials have not known the Internet without Amazon.”

Lang also explained that Amazon is expanding into the services field — its online to offline (commonly referred to as o2o) transactions have been growing in volume and the range of services offered, including auto repair.

In particular, Millennials are drawn to Amazon for its product reviews and brand and price alternatives.

“Millennials strongly rely on peer-to-peer opinions when they choose among products and services. This information provided by Amazon plays into Millennials’ core value of sharing,” Lang said, adding that this is a differentiator against traditional options.

“Amazon offers brand and pricing alternatives to buyers, which most brick-and-mortar stores cannot match,” Lang added. “This is important to Millennials who often prefer value [competitive pricing] over merchandise branding. This has led to the accusation by some analysts that Millennials lack brand loyalty.”

Notably, delivery time isn’t much of an issue for the younger generation. While they want and can get regular household purchases quickly, it’s not the same case with auto repair products.

Lang said consumers are scheduling auto repairs through Amazon at approved outlets, giving lead time for the necessary parts to reach the shop from Amazon for the scheduled time of repair.

This “strategy shifts the focus of consumers’ auto repair buying decisions from local repair outlets to large platforms, such as Amazon,” Lang said.