Role of dealerships remains strong

Despite the increasingly important role played by the internet in the consumer buying journey, physical dealerships remain key, the latest The National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) Consumer Attitude Survey revealed.

The Survey was commissioned by NFDA, and represents franchised car and commercial vehicle retailers across the UK, and executed by Public Knowledge, a market research agency. This is the ‘dealer insight’ of the seventh edition of the survey, which polled 2,000 consumers across the UK in a 15-minute online survey.

The NFDA Consumer Attitude Survey revealed that 75% of car purchases, for cars under seven years old, are made at franchised dealers; 14% are made at independent garages; five per cent at used car supermarkets and five per cent from private sellers. When considering only brand-new cars, 93% of them were bought at franchised dealerships.

The survey found that 50% of consumers visit a car dealership website before purchasing a vehicle. However, surprisingly, 32% of respondents bought a car from a physical franchised dealership without using any dealer, manufacturer or other car sales website before buying the car. Buyers of prestige brands are significantly more likely to visit manufacturer websites, 46%, and research in papers/magazines, 13%, than those buying volume brands, 32% and 8%, respectively.

The findings showed that 63% of consumers intend to purchase their next vehicle from a franchised dealer showroom and nine per cent from a franchised dealer website.

These findings mirrored the latest figures from research body ICDP which showed that the number of consumer visits to physical dealerships as well as the total number of dealerships visited by consumers in 2019 were higher than the previous years.

Sue Robinson, director of the NFDA, said: “The survey has revealed a growing trend towards online retailing and the importance of the customer experience online going forward. As a result, a strong digital strategy is vital in today’s market, but consumers continue to see physical dealerships as an essential element of their buying journey.”