Click here to view a 14-minute video of the key findings.

Click here to download a PDF of the slides.

The Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group® commissioned Quantilope to conduct the seventh annual auto aftermarket category study to determine the current state of America’s auto parts retailers. 1,000 auto parts shoppers were surveyed in September 2025.

Key findings:

• Audio listeners spend more: Heavy AM/FM radio listeners spend 26% more than the average shopper. Heavy podcast listeners follow closely at 22% more. The best customers for auto parts are also audio’s best listeners.
• Sports AM/FM radio is the home of ultra-heavy auto parts shoppers, especially AM/FM radio play-by-play broadcasts of the NFL, NCAA, NBA, and NHL.
• Auto aftermarket social media ad investment has surged but audio listeners are the biggest spenders: Heavy social media users spend $714 annually on auto parts, while heavy AM/FM radio listeners spend $790 (+11%) and heavy podcast listeners spend $765 (+7%).
• Services motivate younger demographics.

MediaRadar: 2025 auto aftermarket advertising spend hits a record high of $469M

AutoZone regains its share of voice lead; O’Reilly Auto Parts and Firestone Complete Auto Care tie for second

Social grows to the leading media platform for auto aftermarket spend at the expense of TV and AM/FM radio

Key segments: Mega-milers and ultra-heavy auto parts shoppers

In the last year, Americans who shop at auto aftermarket retailers spent an average of $626. Mega-milers who clock 200+ miles in their vehicles a week spent +44% more on auto parts ($900) than the average.

Ultra-heavy auto parts shoppers who made 10+ shopping trips in the past two years spent $832 annually, +33% more than the U.S. average.

41% of consumers use both traditional auto retail and online/discount outlets; 44% only use traditional retailers

Services are important to younger demographics

Auto parts shoppers were asked, “How influential are maintenance or service offerings (oil changes, fluid changes, battery testing, etc.) on which auto parts and/or accessories retailer you choose to shop at?”

18-34s say services are extremely influential to their choice of auto aftermarket retailer.

As American time spent in the car returns to pre-pandemic levels, the proportion of in-car AM/FM radio listening returns to historical levels

According to Edison’s “Share of Ear” study, the proportion of AM/FM radio listening that occurs in-car has returned to pre-pandemic norms.

Media scorecard: AM/FM radio and podcasts are the ideal platforms to advertise auto aftermarket brands

Versus the U.S. average, heavy AM/FM radio listeners and podcast listeners spend more annually in the auto parts category. While social media represents the media channel with the greatest auto aftermarket media spend, audio listeners spend the most in the category.

Your best customers are our best customers: The biggest auto parts customers are heavy AM/FM radio listeners

The three key auto aftermarket consumer segments (mega-milers, do-it-yourselfers, and ultra-heavy auto parts shoppers) are more likely to be heavy AM/FM radio listeners:

• Ultra-heavy auto parts shoppers, those who made 10+ shopping trips in the past two years, are +29% more likely to be heavy AM/FM radio listeners
• Do-it-yourselfers are +19% more likely to be heavy AM/FM radio listeners
• Mega-milers, who clock 200+ miles per week, are +48% more likely to be heavy AM/FM radio listeners

Time spent in the car powers AM/FM radio listening and the need for auto parts

AM/FM radio is endemic to the auto parts category. As time spent in the car grows, so does the need for car maintenance and auto parts. As such, the heaviest AM/FM radio listeners are the biggest auto parts shoppers.

In the car, AM/FM radio is the “queen of the road” with a stunning 84% share of ad-supported audio

Edison Research’s Q3 2025 “Share of Ear” report reveals AM/FM radio has a dominant share of in-car ad-supported audio. AM/FM radio is the perfect platform to reach heavy auto parts purchasers when they are in the car and their thoughts turn to car maintenance.

A wide variety of AM/FM radio programming formats and podcast genres generate strong reach among auto parts purchasers

AM/FM radio sports listeners are frequent auto parts shoppers

As auto parts shopping occasions increase, listenership to sports AM/FM radio surges.

Sports AM/FM radio is the home of ultra-heavy auto parts shoppers, especially AM/FM radio play-by-play broadcasts of the NFL, NCAA, NBA, and NHL

51% of ultra-heavy auto parts shoppers listen to NFL play-by-play AM/FM radio broadcasts. 48% listen to NCAA College football broadcasts. AM/FM radio sports play-by-play is an ideal platform for auto parts brands.

Brand score card: AutoZone leads and O’Reilly Auto Parts is #2; Advance Auto Parts, Walmart, and Amazon make up the third tier

The scorecard below details key 2025 brand equity metrics (awareness, purchase, brand image, ad recall) down the left. Auto parts retailers are indicated left to right across the top.

The magnitude of a brand’s unaided awareness is a key driver for brand images and shopping behavior.

Ty Heath from the B2B Institute says, “The brand that’s remembered is the brand that is bought. The goal is not to create a lead, the goal is create a memory. Lead generation is short term. Memory generation is long term. Win the mind to win the market. Mind share = market share.”

Key findings:

• Audio listeners spend more: Heavy AM/FM radio listeners spend 26% more than the average shopper. Heavy podcast listeners follow closely at 22% more. The best customers for auto parts are also audio’s best listeners.
• Sports AM/FM radio is the home of ultra-heavy auto parts shoppers, especially AM/FM radio play-by-play broadcasts of the NFL, NCAA, NBA, and NHL.
• Auto aftermarket social media ad investment has surged but audio listeners are the biggest spenders: Heavy social media users spend $714 annually on auto parts, while heavy AM/FM radio listeners spend $790 (+11%) and heavy podcast listeners spend $765 (+7%).
• Services motivate younger demographics.

Recommendations:

• Build brands too: Historically, the auto aftermarket sector heavily marketed vendor special offers. There is a significant body of marketing research that indicates “a succession of short-term response-focused (offer) campaigns will not succeed as strongly over the longer term as a single brand-building campaign designed to achieve year-on-year improvement to business success.” (Binet & Field)
• Online shopping should be promoted: Consumers have transitioned to a blend of retail and online shopping for their auto parts needs with 41% of consumers using both traditional and online retailers. Legacy brands must continue to market their online platforms to consumers.
• Market service offerings: 38% of adults 18-34 say service offerings are extremely influential where they choose to shop. Promotions centered around service offerings can entice younger demographics to come into the store and be converted into long-term customers. 
• Increase AM/FM radio’s allocation in the media plan. Podcasts also show promise: AM/FM radio is the “engine” of auto aftermarket sales. Nielsen determined AM/FM radio generates $21 of return in advertising spend for every dollar invested in AM/FM radio ads. Key auto aftermarket segments (mega-milers, do-it-yourselfers, and ultra-heavy auto parts shoppers) are heavy users of AM/FM radio. Reallocation of budgets to audio is a smart strategy to target heavy category users.

Creative recommendations:

• Emotion-based creative drives the strongest business outcomes: Research by the two godfathers of marketing effectiveness, Les Binet and Peter Field, finds that sales and profit growth are generated by emotion-based ads that “create positive feelings and associations” that are “interesting and enjoyable.”
• Shift creative to become more entertaining and emotion based: Les Binet says, “In order to really build strong brands, you’ve got to start preparing consumers long before they even start thinking about the product or the purchase. That means engaging them when they’re not interested in what you have to say, when they are not thinking about the product, when they have no need to be satisfied. So you can only do that by engaging them with things that are intrinsically interesting at a human level and that will be remembered for a very long time. So emotion is the most powerful selling tool we have.”
• “Entertain for business gain” urges Orlando Wood from System1: In his book, Why Does The Pedlar Sing? What Creativity Really Means In Advertising, Paul Feldwick says: “Advertising is at least as much showmanship as it is salesmanship. It is time to rediscover the fact that advertising builds brands best when it is entertaining, popular, and memorable, when it is not just a pitch, but a performance.”

Click here to view a 14-minute video of the key findings.

Pierre Bouvard is Chief Insights Officer of the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group^®.

Contact the Insights team at CorpMarketing@westwoodone.com.