Online sales of automotive parts and accessories are up 42% since the first week of March, according to an analysis by Hedges & Co.

The company said it analyzed nearly 12 million user sessions and online purchases from parts and accessory websites in the United States and Canada. The analysis includes retailer websites as well as manufacturer websites selling directly to consumers.

The analysis compares weekly online sales starting March 1-7, before the coronavirus pandemic forced widespread shutdowns of retail businesses. The latest e-commerce comparison covers the week of May 3-11, the ninth week of the analysis.

Hedges & Co. broke down online sales into five market segments, including OEM replacement parts; light-truck and off-road parts and accessories; performance and racing parts; aftermarket accessories; and powersports parts and accessories.

Compared to the week of March 1-7, overall aftermarket e-commerce sales for the week of May 3-9 were up 42%.

According to Hedges & Co., online sales of powersports parts and accessories surged 126% during the same period, while online sales of light-truck and offroad parts were up 42%.

Online sales of OEM replacement parts were up 14% during the same period, performance/racing parts were up 26% and aftermarket accessories were up 41%.

Aftermarket e-commerce websites are showing an average 11% improvement in website conversion rates for the first 10 days of May compared to the first 10 days of March, according to Hudson, Ohio-based Hedges & Co.

Average session duration was down 1.4% in May and pages per session was up only slightly, at 1%. Both metrics suggest online shoppers had an idea of what they wanted to buy when visiting a website.

The number of visits to aftermarket websites by new visitors in May was up nearly 6%.

Hedges & Co. is publishing regular updates as a service to the parts and accessories industry. Other e-commerce companies in the aftermarket are invited to share in the analysis by contacting Hedges & Co.