UNDERSTANDING WHICH FACTORS MOST INFLUENCED VEHICLE PURCHASE SATISFACTION IN THE RECENT TRADER/ANGUS REID FORUM
In the May 2014 issue, Canadian auto dealer conducted an interview with Ian MacDonald, Director of Marketing for AutoTRADER.ca. The interview was in reference to the findings of a recent Angus Reid forum conducted on behalf of AutoTRADER.ca. which revealed that one in three car buyers are apparently unhappy with their latest vehicle purchase — something that’s caused considerable concern in the auto retail industry. In our efforts to delve a little deeper into the matter, Canadian auto dealer was able to get access to the actual study questions and results. Here we present an analysis of some of those findings.
Methodology
From January 22-23, an online survey was conducted among a sample of 1508 Canadian adults age 18 and older who are also Angus Reid Forum panel members. The margin of error — which measures sampling variability — is +/-2.52 per cent, 19 times out of 20. The sample was balanced by age, gender, region and education (and in Quebec language) according to the most recent census data. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
Questions
Every survey begins with a list of questions and this case, the key points to note where whether those surveyed agreed or strongly disagreed with the following:
• The next time I buy a vehicle I will change/re-prioritize what I’m looking for;
• I regret what I bought and wished that I had bought something else;
• I feel I overpaid for my vehicle;
• I feel my car does not perform as well as it should;
• When buying my next vehicle I will spend more to have special features (push button start, seat warmers etc).
The study also broke down those surveyed into three age groups (18-34, 35-54 and 55+), gender, income (under $50k, $50-$99K and $100K+) education, language spoken at home and region of the country in which they resided. It’s also important to note that the study didn’t differentiate between new and used vehicle buyers.
Out of the 1508 respondents, the study revealed that 1164 (77 per cent) owned or co-owned a vehicle and possessed a valid driver’s licence. What was also interesting was that Alberta, Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada boasted the highest rate of vehicle ownership (80 per cent or higher) with Ontario ranking lowest (73 per cent) despite being the most densely populated province in Canada.
In terms of when respondents purchased their last vehicle, out of 1351 surveyed over a period of within the last year up to more than 10 years, the highest percentage was within the last year (260 or 20 per cent) and the last five years (269 or 20 per cent). Across the country, Saskatchewan residents ranked highest for those who had purchased a vehicle within the last year (29 per cent), followed by Atlantic Canada (25 per cent), Manitoba (23 per cent) and Quebec (21 per cent). When it came to purchases within the last five years, B.C. ranked highest at 24 per cent, followed by Manitoba and Quebec at 23 per cent each.
The dissatisfied third
When it came to agreeing (dissatisfied buyers) or disagreeing (satisfied buyers), the former category saw 553 of 1276 respondents (a whopping 45 per cent) say that when it came to their next vehicle purchase, they would reprioritize what they were looking for. And what was interesting here is that across the country, the response was fairly even (around 40-46 per cent). The actual highest percentage was in Ontario (49 per cent) while Atlantic Canada ranked the lowest at 36 per cent. The findings were also spread fairly evenly across age, gender and income, though males aged 18-34 who earned $50k or less had the highest percentage in each of these categories — 48, 52 and 48 per cent respectively.
The next biggest category concerned spending more for extra features on the next vehicle purchase — 512 out 1276 (41 per cent agreed they would do this). Again these numbers were fairly consistent. Across the country, Saskatchewan ranked highest (51 per cent), while Atlantic Canada was the lowest (37 per cent). Again, males in the 18-34 age group led the way (44 and 48 per cent respectively) but when it came to income, those in the $100k plus category agreed most with this statement.
When it came to the other major category that left owners dissatisfied — namely consumers feeling they overpaid for their last vehicle, out of the 1276 respondents in this category, 382 or 31 per cent felt they had (ranking third out of the five categories). Across the country, Saskatchewan residents felt the strongest about this (38 per cent), while those next door in Manitoba (28 per cent) ranked lowest. In terms of gender, age and income, it was males in the 18-34 age group that earned up to 50K a year that felt most dissatisfied (31, 32 and 34 per cent respectively).
The satisfied two thirds
When it came to those that disagreed with the five statements (satisfied with their purchase), that in itself also produced some interesting findings. Out of 1276 respondents, 685 (55 per cent) said they didn’t think they would reprioritize their next vehicle purchase. Furthermore, across the regional, gender, age and income categories the total percentages were higher than those who agreed. B.C. residents ranked highest at 60 per cent with Ontario the lowest at 51 per cent.
What was also interesting here was that females in the 35-54 and 55 and up age groups that earned $100k or more were those that appeared to “agree” the most — a marked contrast to males aged 18-34 earning up to $50k in the “agreed” category.
However, when it came to the other statements, overpaying for the vehicle was less prevalent in the disagreed category than the agreed, ranking fourth on the list (69 per cent overall) instead of third in the “agreed” category. By contrast for those who disagreed, 85 per cent said they didn’t regret their purchase and 81 per cent disagreed on their vehicle not performing as well as it should.
Conclusion
Although the study goes into far greater depth than this article can possibly cover, Canadian auto dealer’s analysis of these findings clearly follows the sentiments echoed by TRADER’s Ian MacDonald in the last issue, namely that there wasn’t a huge amount of variance among the numbers. If we were to pick one aspect that was greater than the rest it was likely that dissatisfaction with the vehicle purchase tends to correlate with less buyer experience and perhaps impulse, something that’s often more prevalent among younger age groups and particularly males.
Although the study findings might appear disappointing to some, the fact that two thirds of those surveyed were happy with their vehicles indicates that most retailers are still perceived as doing a good job when it comes to their customers. The biggest issue appears to lie with the responsibility of consumers in taking the time to do their own due diligence when shopping for a vehicle. So while results like these might seem controversial in some quarters, they still provide a great benchmark when it comes to improving customer satisfaction. And isn’t that a key driver for dealerships in general?
