US Retailing - Broadlines and Hardlines: C.A.R.S. Tracker Shows Resilient DIFM Business Conditions; Inflation & Deferral Activity Tick Up

Research evidence excerpt

US Retailing - Broadlines and Hardlines: C.A.R.S. Tracker Shows Resilient DIFM Business Conditions; Inflation & Deferral Activity Tick Up

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20 Jul 2026 05:27:34 ET │ 19 pages

US Retailing - Broadlines and

Hardlines

C.A.R.S. Tracker Shows Resilient DIFM Business Conditions; Inflation

& Deferral Activity Tick Up Steven Zaccone, CFA AC

+1-212-816-7089

steven.zaccone@citi.com

CITI'S TAKE

Ariana H Warden

We surveyed ~50 auto repair shops in partnership with Citi’s Research +1-212-816-9450

Innovation Lab to get a read on DIFM business conditions for our auto parts ariana.warden@citi.com

retailers. This survey serves as a temperature check for DIFM (aka. Pro)

business trends ahead of ORLY earnings. Survey results remain resilient for

DIFM overall as evidenced by business conditions at or above expectations

for 90% of repair shop respondents and a strong hiring outlook. Our survey

also showed a slight uptick in parts inflation sequentially (+ for pricing at

auto parts retail as inflation stays sticky). Lastly, our survey showed a spike

in deferred maintenance and trade-down activity, potentially indicating

growing consumer budget pressures from higher gas prices. We detail the

key takeaways below with detailed discussion/charts in the note. Please

also see our 2Q earnings preview for ORLY here.

(#1) Business Conditions At or Above Expectations for Vast Majority of Repair

Shops — 90% of respondents in July said business conditions were at or above

expectations in the past 3 months, unchanged from April. Looking forward, 98% of

respondents expect business conditions at or above expectations for the next 3

months, up from 94% in April.

(#2) Gas Prices Expected to Negatively Impact the Majority of Businesses and