Discount Tire is augmenting the power of its online Treadwell tire selection tool with data generated at Treadwell Research Park, the company's tire testing facility in Pearsall, Texas.
The nearly 900-acre complex, which Discount Tire acquired several years ago, features 14 on- and off-road test surfaces, as well as indoor tire testing.
Nearly 95% of the tires that Discount Tire sells, including the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based dealership’s private label products, are evaluated at Treadwell Research Park.
Treadwell Research Park is “a quantum leap for us,” John Baldwin, Discount Tire’s chief product and technical officer, told MTD during a recent media event, Treadwell Experience ‘24, which was held at the facility, located some 55 miles outside of San Antonio.
“We started thinking about” establishing Discount Tire’s own tire test center in 2014. “When this became available, it checked all the boxes.” (Discount Tire acquired the facility, owned for many years by Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., from Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., which purchased Cooper in 2021.)
“If (tires) are on offer” via the Treadwell portal “that we consider to be a core part of our assortment or maybe something we don’t carry in our stores, but we offer on our website ... those are tested,” he said.
“Say it’s a power line of 50 sizes. We might pick three different sizes and put them on different vehicles. We collate test data, we make sure it’s matching up – we run control tires, too – and we enter all of that into a database,” as well as tire mileage information collected at more than 1,200 Discount Tire stores.
Captured data, once processed, is presented to consumers across a variety of metrics when they drill down into Treadwell. “You don’t have to be a tire expert to decipher the information,” Baldwin told MTD.
“As a company, we’re not selling tires,” Discount Tire CEO Dean Muglia told event attendees. “We’re empowering the customer with the right data and information, so they can make the best choices. It’s tire buying made easy.”
'An independent voice'
Speaking as part of a panel discussion during Treadwell Experience ‘24, David Ginsberg, Discount Tire’s chief corporate and strategy officer, called Treadwell “an independent voice that really cuts through the marketing stories and gives (consumers) the real facts, so they can say, ‘I get it. I now understand what I’m paying for.’”
Tire pricing is not factored into how Treadwell rates tires, he added. “People are shocked to hear that financial considerations are not included in the algorithm.”
Tom Williams, Discount Tire’s chief experience officer, called Treadwell “a big game-changer. It’s really been able to (help) us build trust with the customer based on facts and data. The tire buying experience is not fun. A lot of consumers out there don’t enjoy the experience. They want to be empowered. They want to have the peace of mind that what they bought is the right thing. We’re not selling tires. We’re consulting. We’re sharing information. And when we do that, (consumers) tell us we’re building trust.”
The data generated at Treadwell Research Park also benefits Discount Tire store personnel, Baldwin told MTD. “If you think about the number of tires that are now on offer and say, ‘Hey, I’m going to make a top three recommendation,’ you might have 25 different SKUs” to choose from. “Keeping all of that in your head is just not possible. Treadwell helps the counterperson learn about tires quickly and secondly, it’s a seamless and consistent way to organize tires and rank them.”
“Cars have changed,” said Williams. “Applications have changed. Fitments have changed. The expectation on the front line to meet (those) ... it’s a daunting task for our associates. They now have a tool they can use that’s based on real-world results and based on testing. It takes that complexity out (of the equation) for our people.”
“The other thing Treadwell does is help manufacturers make better and safer tires,” said Muglia, noting that Discount Tire testing and tread wear information is shared with tiremakers. “They want to rank high in Treadwell. So they’re constantly trying to up their game.”
“There’s this feedback loop where we give (tiremakers) information, so ultimately they build better tires,” added Ginsberg. “Treadwell picks up on that data and who benefits? The end user.”
New capabilities
Discount Tire officials say the dealership is always looking to incorporate new products and categories into its Treadwell tool.
“Next year, we’re looking at adding off-road (light truck tire) data,” possibly including information about tires' "ability to rock climb... maybe sidewall toughness or durability,” said Baldwin. “That’s on our radar. We just launched winter (tire) Treadwell. We’re getting started with that.”
A sustainability index “is coming soon. We’re going to have a way of ranking that. We’ll see how people react to it. We have the data. It’s just serving it up in a different way.
“Do you have to become an expert on everything that you buy?” Baldwin asked, speaking from the perspective of the consumer. “Is there someone you can trust who can break it down for you – using real data and organizing it in a way you can digest? I liken it to buying a TV or a refrigerator. There’s all this data available, but nobody is (providing) analysis. So we’re providing the analysis.”
Baldwin told MTD that Discount Tire is “starting to do some background testing for Tire Rack,” which the dealership acquired at the end of 2021, but Tire Rack will continue to conduct its own testing.
“Tire Rack has such a uniquely different customer,” he said. “They’re very enthusiast-driven. Their (customers) really research tires. They’re probably honed in on three or four tires, as opposed to someone who’s a casual buyer. I always take it back to the basics. A lot of (consumers) don’t even realize that tires come in different sizes.”
