18 The Purchasing Trends Study – Tools and Equipment 2018 is Copyright © 2002-2018 Auto Care Association and/or its licensor All other rights reserved. Use of the Purchasing Trends Study – Tools and Equipment 2018 is subject to compliance with the Legal Terms and Conditions found on page 95 of this report. Suppliers for Tool Purchases Use of Suppliers for Past Tool Purchases Respondents rated how frequently they used traditional suppliers for past tool purchases. The mean ratings were based on a 5-point scale, where 1 = infrequently and 5 = very frequently. The chart and tables below show the analysis by employment role. Respondents purchased tools most frequently in the past from mobile vendors (3.79 mean), but infrequently from hardware retailers (2.16 mean), tool jobber/warehouse distributors (2.65 mean) and retail parts stores (2.65 mean). The full line parts jobber (3.57 mean) and the internet sellers (2.86 mean) were the next most frequently used tool suppliers. While mobile vendors have consistently remained the tool suppliers of choice, respondents are increasingly gravitating to full line parts jobbers as the second suppliers of choice. The survey also reveals that the respondents are increasingly purchasing their tools online. Last year, internet sellers were rated 2.47 mean, compared to this year’s 2.86 mean. The proliferation of online shopping is happening at the expense of brick-and-mortar hardware shops. As a result, hardware retailers are consistently ranked at the bottom, while internet sellers are ranked much higher. 3.95 37% 2.97 3.44 2.87 3.79 Mobile vendor Full line parts jobber Internet seller Manufacturer Catalog Retail parts store Tool jobber/warehouse distributor Hardware retailer 3.57 2.28 2.47 2.86 2.38 1.89 2.76 2.06 2.08 2.76 2.39 1.97 2.65 2.10 2.05 2.65 2.05 2.06 2.16 2015 2016 2017 Traditional Suppliers for Past Tool Purchases, 2015, 2016 and 2017 (Average Ratings)