SAN JOSE, Calif. -

In and of itself, the fact that 36 percent of taxpayers who expected to receive a refund check this year planned on spending at least part of those funds on auto-related items isn’t all that out of the ordinary, according to a survey from eBay Motors.

While that proportion was up 3 percentage points from year-ago numbers, prior years have shown “similar levels in terms of the amount of spending from consumers using their tax refunds to update their vehicles,” said eBay Motors general manager Bryan Murphy.

“What’s different about this year’s survey data is the reason behind consumers’ decisions to invest their refunds into their vehicles. Four out of 10 taxpayers say the harsh winter this year made them decide to invest some of their tax refund to their vehicle, especially for people who live in Midwest or Northeast,” Murphy explained.

“In the Midwest, 54 percent of taxpayers, and 58 percent of taxpayers in the Northeast, said this winter’s harsh weather contributed to their decision to invest at least a portion of their tax refund into their vehicle,” he continued.

“For instance, half (49 percent) of respondents investing in their vehicle are investing the money to address damage caused by this winter’s roads; one-third (32 percent) are investing in parts or accessories to better equip their vehicle to handle rough winter road conditions,” Murphy added. “These parts include wheels and tires (54 percent), brakes (36 percent) and batteries (20 percent).”

These types of numbers certainly impact dealerships, as well. Murphy said that dealerships’ service shops and parts/accessories departments have been afforded a “major opportunity” from the results of the winter’s weather conditions. In fact, he mentioned that of all the drivers who intended on putting refund money into their cars to address damage from the wintry roads, a third were planning to put that money into parts and accessories to adapt to winter road conditions.

Murphy went on to explain how dealers can best tap into the demand for these various departments.

“Dealers can optimize this trend by leveraging all channels and communications regarding their parts and accessories, service departments and offers. The way consumers shop for parts is changing. In today’s highly connected world, dealers must be available to consumers through the types of channels they prefer: social networks, online shopping sites, review and price-comparison sites, online video and other digitally driven media,” he noted.

“Dealers can extend their influence in today’s digital-social-mobile world by making their website easy to find — this can be done by registering with major search engines, online business directories and industry sources that direct shoppers to their site during the early stages of consideration. Dealers should also evaluate which social media sites their target audience is active on,” Murphy added.

“For example, creating a Facebook page for the dealership and posting regularly can generate discussion and response and raise awareness of your business, values and upcoming parts and accessories promotions. Finally, taking a gracious and friendly approach to online communities is a great way to positively interact with your target audience and other local influencers,” he continued. “Using the Internet as a marketing and sales channel is a great step to take to meet customers and their growing demand.

“One way to reach customers is through eBay Motors, where a part or accessory sells every second. To maximize your listing, we recommend creating a strong and detailed description to build trust with buyers right off. To accompany the listing, provide at a wide variety of photos of the part/accessory from multiple angles.”

Interesting enough, eBay found through its survey that more consumers are prone to turn to their mobile devices or computers for parts and accessories purchases.

In fact, 42 percent said they would likely use a computer to make an online auto-related purchase, eBay said, which is a 7-percent year-over-year increase. Meanwhile, nearly a fourth (22 percent) said they were likely to use a mobile device to make a car-related purchase online. This is 6 percent higher than last year’s proportion.

eBay Motors itself sees more than 14,000 cars and  581,000 parts sold across the world each week through its mobile apps.

Given these trends, Auto Remarketing also asked Murphy to share a few key tips for dealers to make sure their mobile selling is optimized.

“The research highlighted a significant increase in consumers’ attitudes toward both online and mobile shopping in 2014. Half (50 percent) of taxpayers indicated that the way they shop for auto related items is changing due to an increase in technology they use, a 4-percent increase from 2013. Specifically for mobile, 22 percent of the taxpayers said they are extremely or somewhat likely to make an auto-related purchase online with a mobile device, 6 percent higher than 2013,” he noted.

“This growth in mobile also emphasizes the importance for dealers to optimize their websites for smartphones or other devices. If a dealer’s inventory is not readily available via mobile, chances are there is an entire customer segment that may not see what’s for sale. Dealers should also consider participating in online marketplaces to broaden reach,” Murphy continued.

He went on to add:  “As a complementary sales channel, eBay Motors enables sellers to reach an international marketplace and participate in a larger market, where there are more than 128 million active users in 190 countries (as of the fourth quarter of 2013).

“To receive the best results, we recommend adapting the road to sale. Focusing on the virtual-first impressions of your company and products while keeping in mind that consumers are beginning their shopping and research experience online. For example, consider loading multiple high-quality photos of the product and gear them for mobile devices by making sure that thumbnails aren’t stretched and that you have a strong first picture,” he continued. “We also recommend encouraging mobile use at the dealership to keep customers onsite longer.

“This can be done by offering free Wi-Fi inside the showroom and on the lot, providing mobile charging stations in waiting rooms, posting QR codes on vehicles for easier research on features and promoting your review sites with QR codes for easy reference.”