Get in the (online) zone! AutoZone sees bright future for web sales of auto parts

Online sales of auto parts historically have lagged just about every other retail category.

Customers tend to use the internet to research parts and pricing but more often than not visit a brick-and-mortar store to make the purchase.

AutoZone has revamped its web offerings to cater to those consumers, and perhaps convince more of them to buy online, CEO William C. Rhodes said in a conference call Dec. 7.

"As consumer behaviors change and as we enhance our sites, we believe this is likely to continue to grow at a fairly rapid pace," Rhodes said. "Today, many of our in-store sales are influenced by our customers' interaction with us over the web."

The auto-parts chain with more than 4,200 U.S. stores has streamlined the number of steps it takes to find parts online to match a customer's car, and in November launched a separate site for commercial customers at autozonepro.com.

For customers, the advantages of shopping for parts online include "a wealth of information over and above" what is available at the store counters, along and a much larger assortment, said CFO William T. Giles.

The approach appears to be working. Online sales for AutoZone rose 11 percent in the first quarter compared to last year.

Kroger house brands losing share to national brands in hopeful sign for economy

More Kroger customers are opting for brand-name products instead of house-label items in a trend that has company executives feeling cautiously optimistic about consumer spending.

The company said sales of national brand products rose in the third quarter while sales of Kroger's more than 20,000 house-branded items fell from about 35 percent of sales to 34 percent.

CEO David Dillon said strong sales last year for private-label products, brought on in part to an unwillingness by the big food players to drop prices to match deflation, have made comparisons tough this year. Another factor: National brands have invested in more advertising and promotional activities in 2010.

"I also think it's a partial indication of some of the customer base seeing that the world around them has improved," Dillon said in a Dec. 2 conference call, before cautioning listeners to read too much into the trend.

One trend that's more clear: The widening distance between the haves and have-nots.

Kroger officials noted that the chain has seen sales rise for Boar's Head meats, high-end wines and Starbucks coffee at its in-store kiosks. At the other end of the spectrum, more than double the number of customers are using food stamps for groceries than just three years ago.