Fifty-eight percent of Americans prefer to do their shopping online as opposed to going to the store, according to a new survey released by AmericasBarometer. That’s good news for Americans, as US retail e-commerce sales are expected to increase by 6.8% per year through 2024.

With online shopping, packages are shipped right to your door in a timely manner, so it’s no stretch to see why online shopping has become so popular. But people’s preference for online shopping doesn’t end at Amazon, as they also try to find convenient and efficient solutions in their work life as well.

This is especially true in the material handling industry, where people find online shopping to be faster and more convenient than in-person shopping. This is true for a few key reasons:

1. Larger inventories

As a consumer, you don’t want to settle for a product that doesn’t meet your exact needs. Finding specific products online, such as a forklift replacement part, is fast and easy with the help of product search boxes and part number lookup features.

2. Faster Shopping

Purchasing material handling products online is ideal for managers on a tight schedule. you shop online, you’ll know within a few seconds if the product is available or not and can also benefit from easily reordering frequently purchased items.

3. Scheduled deliveries

If you need to make purchases on an ongoing basis, you can easily set up reoccurring orders – one less thing to worry about. Scheduling deliveries also allows you to minimize inventory space in your warehouse while having everything that you need on-hand.

4. Informed decisions

Shopping for products online allows you to read detailed product descriptions, reviews, product specifications, and other critical details.

5. Easy returns

Making returns to an ecommerce website is easy. Simply use the original packaging to mail the part back to the manufacturer. Because past purchase information is stored in your online account, you won’t need to hang onto paper receipts in order to make a return.

6. Always Open

When things get busy, you may not have the time to shop at a store that is only open from 9 - 5. Shopping online allows you to browse parts online and order what you need when you have the time to do so. Because online stores are accessible 24 hours and seven days a week, you can make purchases whenever is convenient for you.

An Online Parts Store

Our online parts store -- The Parts Store -- provides you with quick and easy access to genuine OEM and competitive parts, all backed by our extensive local dealer network.

The Parts Store allows you to:

• Order replacement parts for your forklift fleet online, regardless of the make or model of your forklift.
• Quickly check availability and pricing for over 4.2 million forklift parts on your own schedule.
• Order your forklift parts with the click of a button whenever you need them with full access to our entire inventory 24/7.
• Obtain tracking information for added peace of mind.

To learn more or gain access, visit the Parts Store to request a customer account. One of our dealers will accept the request and reach out to offer support.

Have further questions? Contact your local dealer today.