Here we stand in the middle of the toughest credit crunch in modern history, and on the one hand, we are informed that the worst of the financial part of the crisis is over. Unfortunately we are informed that unemployment is nowhere near its peak, and in the UK is expected to grow from the already historic high of 2.2 million, right up to 3 million.

In the current climate car owners are significantly reducing the mileage they do in their cars, therefore they require less and less servicing and wear parts, and as the credit crunch continues to take effect, especially when unemployment adds to it, there will be many people giving up their cars completely.

Therefore, if you’re an automotive retailer, which goods should you stocking in order to protect your profit, and so overcome the negative effect of the credit crunch on your income?

You’ll probably already know that, universal wear-parts and consumables are constantly excellent sellers, and as the credit crunch deepens, more and more people change over to doing their own simple maintenance tasks. This means that bulbs are a good item to stock. There aren’t too many different SKUs to fit the entire range of cars on the market. Wiper Blades are the same. Not too many sizes cover the whole market, they’re easy to fit, and frequently need replacing. It’s the same situation with items such as Oil and Air Filters, Spark Plugs etc., as drivers begin to do their own simple maintenance.

As a retailer, you’ll also see that sales of car care products such as quality car shampoo and Car Care Wax will increase as drivers move away from using car washes as they try to reduce costs, and take steps to better maintain the condition and value of their car.

Other items to stock in a credit crunch are upgrade or luxury items like in-car entertainment and Sat Nav Systems, as well as items for customising your car, like sports steering wheels, seats etc. These items cover a wide range of prices with the cheapest items starting at less than £10, being things like Gear Stick Knobs, performance Car Wipers or even retrofit Flat Wiper Blades. At the top of this range of products people will spend thousands on a customised interior, sports suspension, performance brakes etc , etc.

The paradoxical thing about a credit crunch is that sales of this type of product will hold up, or even increase. That’s because those people who are still in work often find that they have more money to spend. Interest rates tumble, reducing their mortgage payments, and many commodity prices also drop. However, because of uncertainty about their job security, these same people are unwilling to commit to major capital expenditure such as buying a new car. They therefore end up holding onto their car longer, and so they start to indulge themselves by spending their increasing disposable income on upgrading, updating or personalising their car.