CarParts.com Delivers the Best Online Experience for Its Customers

ABOUT

Auto Parts Seller Challenges Brick-and-Mortar Retailers

CarParts.com is a one-stop shop for auto repair and maintenance resources, and has developed an unparalleled online shopping experience. Whether a customer is a hands-on DIY enthusiast or prefers professional assistance, CarParts.com connects consumers with parts, shops, and mechanics nationwide, ensuring a hassle-free maintenance journey from start to finish.

With over 100 million visits to the CarParts.com site annually, the company’s success relies on its ability to deliver accurate imagery for over 1 million parts. Beyond selling merchandise, CarParts.com provides a wealth of comprehensive resources, including a blog and instructional videos, ensuring all customers, regardless of their expertise level, have access to valuable information.

THE CHALLENGE

End-to-End Image Management That Moves

After years of manually taking and editing pictures of individual products, CarParts.com has revolutionized its part photography process by leveraging Orbitvu to capture detailed 3D renderings. “This technology efficiently delivers intricate hi-res images of every part, enabling customers to view even the smallest details,” explains Kals Subramanian, CTO of CarParts.com. “Offering a comprehensive view of each part is essential in the purchasing journey and empowers buyers to make informed decisions for their vehicles.”

Beyond the complexities of publishing images, content management and publication consumed employee hours and negatively impacted revenue. To improve efficiency and productivity, CarParts.com adopted a headless architecture with Cloudinary as its visual media layer. The implementation accelerated the end-to-end process of uploading, formatting, and publishing. Switching to Cloudinary has reduced the company’s end-to-end workflow by more than half the time.

THE CLOUDINARY SOLUTION

Headless Architecture: Move at the Speed of E-commerce

Among the many upsides of the company’s new MACH-based headless architecture is that Cloudinary instantly and fully integrates Strapi and Pimcocreative, the team’s dual-function content management systems, with merchandisers. Integrating these platforms has positively impacted workflows by streamlining processes between creatives and merchandisers.

Cloudinary APIs seamlessly integrate with the headless CMS to dynamically retrieve optimized images tailored to specific SKUs, enhancing the visual experience across multiple pages. In crafting a product display page, Cloudinary swiftly identifies images by matching assigned tags to each SKU. This streamlined process extends seamlessly to email and direct mail marketing endeavors, ensuring consistent high-quality image delivery across all channels and mediums.

Effortless Migration

There are many hurdles blocking the way to a smooth data or system migration. Issues such as poor knowledge of source data and lack of integrated processes and expertise are among some of the most common.

Pre-migration, Subramanian observed, “…if you have a proven migration script and architecture, things speed up. You need the right people involved on both ends.”

The CarParts.com team was given an easy-to-follow migration script and in less than four weeks, the transfer of more than 23 million assets from their legacy solution into Cloudinary was complete. Subramanian commented on the superior customer service his team experienced during the process, saying, “Adapting a new system isn’t a seamless process and its success takes more than a product; it’s the people working with you as well.”

THE RESULTS

The CarParts.com and Cloudinary Go the Extra Mile

Subramanian sums up the need for accurate imagery on the CarParts.com site: “Most consumers are not sitting at home with multiple cars at their disposal. If they need to visit our site, they most likely need a part quickly and efficiently. If a consumer gets the wrong part, they don’t have time to waste waiting for a return and new delivery. As a customer-first company, we go the extra mile to deliver a world-class experience from their first visit to our website to the moment the product is installed.”

The results:

• Customer care. CarParts.com’s imagery helps provide a world-class, detailed, and accurate online shopping experience.
• Associate needs. Partnering with Cloudinary ensures our team members receive the crucial support necessary for their success.
• Operational efficiency. With Cloudinary’s headless architecture, CarParts.com has improved its high-resolution image management, enhancing user experiences.

By leaning into automated solutions that deliver and store detailed, high-quality imagery, CarParts.com is making it easy for customers to confidently purchase the right part for their car, and it’s never been easier for the company to deliver on their mission to “Empower Drivers Along Their Journey.”