Opening up a new topic for “The Pulse,” we are now talking about wiper blades and how they are sourced. Most independent repair shops turn to the WDs first for wiper blades for Asian vehicles. According to IMR Inc.’s Repair Shop Tracking Study, 62.6 percent of independent repair shops make the WD their first choice, while 35.7 percent call a retailer first for wiper blades for Asian vehicles.

“With wiper blades, we are seeing a pretty consistent number of independent repair shops making the warehouse distributor the first choice for wiper blades, whether it is for a domestic or Asian vehicle,” said Bill Thompson, president and CEO of IMR Inc. “The IMR Repair Shop Tracking Study also reveals that only 1.7 percent of shops go to the new car dealer for wiper blades for Asian vehicles, a slight uptick from the less than one percent who use the dealer for wipers for domestic vehicles.”

For more than 40 years, IMR Inc. has been an industry leader in automotive research and conducts syndicated and proprietary market research studies that focus on automotive parts and services, repair shops, technicians, accessories and vehicle technology trends. To find out how IMR research can help your business, call 800-654-1079, e-mail [email protected] or visit AutomotiveResearch.com.

The summary for the prior IMR study on filtration parts can be found here.