J.D. POWER
More Women Are Buying Cars in the Philippines But Their Satisfaction Is Pulling down, J.D. Power Investigate Finds
Toyota Ranks Highest in Sales Satisfaction in the Philippines for Third Consecutive Year
SINGAPORE: thirty one AUG. Two thousand sixteen — As the purchasing power of women in the Philippines increases, women make up almost half of the car-buying population, but their overall satisfaction with the sales practice is deteriorating, according to the J.D. Power two thousand sixteen Philippines Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Explore, SM released today.
The examine finds that the proportion of women buying fresh vehicles has steadily enlargened in latest years to 45% in two thousand sixteen from 31% in 2013. While overall satisfaction among dudes and women is almost the same, trends for women are on the decline (758 on a 1,000-point scale in 2016, down seven points from 2015) while those for boys are going the other direction (757 in 2016, up from 752). This should be a concern for automakers and dealerships, as more and more women are purchasing fresh vehicles.
The probe also finds significant differences in the shopping behavior inbetween women and boys. Women rely more on recommendations from friends, relatives and other owners of the same make, while fellows tend to spend more time on the Internet researching spectacle features and technical specifications. Additionally, only 7% of women visit a dealership alone—the others are accompanied by a friend or family member—compared with 21% of dudes.
However, what is similar inbetween the two genders is that the majority of both women (91%) and dudes (88%) say they knew the exact car model or make they wished to purchase prior to visiting the dealership.
“As more women are buying cars in the Philippines, dealers have to understand that what may appeal to boys in the shopping process may not resonate with women,” said Loïc Péan, senior manager at J.D. Power. “Satisfaction is critical since readiness to recommend and repurchase is more than dual for customers who are very sated.”
Further, the probe finds that female salespeople are more effective in engaging with female customers, as they exhibit more empathy and concern for their needs. Satisfaction is higher among women who are served by female staff than among women served by masculine staff (777 vs. 754, respectively).
“The problem at dealerships is that there are too few female employees on the showrooms to cope with the enhancing number of female shoppers,” said Sigfred Doloroso, country manager at J.D. Power. “Female salespeople have the edge in making the emotional connection with women, as they help to make car shopping less intimidating for them.”
Now in its 16th year, the probe examines six factors that contribute to overall customer satisfaction with the new-vehicle purchase practice. In order of importance, they are sales initiation (20%); delivery process (18%); delivery timing (18%); salesperson (17%); dealer facility (15%); and deal (12%).
Overall satisfaction with the sales and delivery process is seven hundred fifty eight in 2016. Satisfaction improves in sales initiation and delivery process—essentially due to significant improvements made by dealers in reducing the saluting and vehicle handover times—but decreases in each of the other factors.
The following are extra key findings of the explore:
- Dealer Website Usage Increases Dramatically: More than half (58%) of all new-vehicle buyers used the Internet to shop for their vehicle. Among them, 69% visited their dealer’s website, a thirty two percentage point increase from 2015. In contrast, fewer customers have visited vehicle manufacturers’ official websites year over year (42% vs. 48%, respectively). The information most often sought by buyers is vehicle price (69%); vehicle features and accessories (43%); and dealer information (34%).
- Test Drives at Purchase Dealer Increase Significantly: The proportion of customers who took a test drive at their purchase dealer has enlargened to 64% in two thousand sixteen from 42% in 2015. However, the test drive is failing to impress customers, as only 7% of customers are delighted (providing a rating of ten on a 10-point scale) with their practice in 2016, down from 19% in 2015.
- Customers Are Getting Better Deals, but Paperwork Problems Lower Satisfaction: More shoppers are negotiating their vehicle price, up to 92% in two thousand sixteen from 77% last year. Furthermore, 81% of them were successful in getting a cash discount. Additionally, the proportion of customers taking a car loan has enhanced to 84% from 76% year over year, further compounding the amount of paperwork involved and leading to lower satisfaction with the timeliness of completing the final paperwork process.
- Pleased Customers Are More Loyal and Provide More Recommendations: Among very pleased customers (overall satisfaction scores of eight hundred thirty four and higher), 44% say they “definitely would” purchase the same brand of vehicle and 51% say they “definitely would” recommend the brand to family and friends. In contrast, among customers who are very dissatisfied (scores of seven hundred eight and lower), only 21% say they “definitely would” repurchase the same brand and only 34% say they “definitely would” recommend the brand to others.
Investigate Rankings
Among the eleven mass market brands ranked in the examine, Toyota ranks highest in new-vehicle sales satisfaction in the Philippines for a third consecutive year, with a score of 766. Toyota performs particularly well in the dealer facility, deal, salesperson and delivery process factors. Isuzu ranks 2nd (763), followed by Kia in third (760).
The two thousand sixteen Philippines Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Probe is based on responses from 1,679 new-vehicle owners who purchased their vehicles from August two thousand fifteen through April 2016. The explore was fielded from February through June 2016.
