report: does automotive fail women?

The Automotive Experience Lab by Good Rebels 1

www.different-spin.com/womenMad Maxine - Does Automotive Fail Women?2

Foreword

I expect youll want to go home and consult your husband. So said a car dealer to a divorced, high net-worth businesswoman, about to spend 30,000 on a year-old, premium convertible. Part of a conversation between customer and dealer, not in 1982 but in 2014.

Something has to change in the car industry. And change radically. From motor shows to showrooms, the female customer experience is in the most part negative; indeed, the findings of this report claim that the industry is fundamentally failing women, and that they feel disenfranchised by the automotive world.

For those of us who care about cars, who believe in the track record of manufacturers to evolve and adapt to changing behaviours and demands, it is inconceivable that the answer is to sit back and do nothing.

At Goodwood, we are passionate about automotive innovation, working with manufacturers and motoring enthusiasts since the inception of the Festival of Speed in 1993. The arrival of the Moving Motor Show in 2010 gave us a new, privileged opportunity to work alongside the public and industry together, engaging in discussions around the consumer.

To complement the experiential journey, we have sought the best market intelligence and data-driven insight on a significant scale; to help us all understand our audience better.

To that end, this year we have partnered with Good Rebels, whose automotive experience innovation lab, Different Spin, conducts insights projects on the issues we know matter to you and your customers. We are pleased, therefore, to present the latest Different Spin research project, focused entirely on female car buyers: what are they looking for, how do they view the buying process? And what do they feel about the ownership experience?

Why are women such an important demographic? Why should manufacturers single them out as a group? And why should the industry pay attention to this report?

In the UK, women are expected to own 60 per cent of all personal wealth by 2025. From the unparalleled sample of 48,345 UK women surveyed by Different Spin, the deeper dive survey of 719 women and the panel of 68 women, the results are staggering. This report gives you a comprehensive, unique insight into a crucial demographic, but one finding is worth particular mention: 90 per cent of the women questioned would not visit a car dealership without a male partner, male relation or male friend.

Its time we all looked for a revolution in the female consumer experience of automotive. We hope this report will whet your appetite, as it has ours at Goodwood, to look outside the familiar industry constraints for new solutions to support your female customers.


ApproachThis project is a state of the automotive nation, understanding the total female experience of automotive. To dig deeply into the subject, our methodology has borrowed from design thinking, a human-centred approach to innovation that combines analytic and creative processes. Yes we analysed large volumes of data using statistically significant samples. But we also used our intuition to engage with the women who participated in our research. We recognised patterns and understood concepts that are emotionally meaningful as well as functional. We enabled our participants to express themselves through techniques beyond the traditional survey.

Nobody wants to run an organisation on feeling, intuition, and inspiration alone, but an over-reliance on the rational and the analytical is just as risky. Design thinking provides an integrated third way.

We have spent 3 months running an Experience Lab, immersing ourselves in the reality of the end-consumer experience, in this case four segments of women:

Millennials

Mothers

Professionals

Empty-nesters

This has allowed us to clearly understand the need states of the female consumer when it comes to automotive and get a robust view of where the sector is delighting and dismaying female consumers.


Experience Lab methodology

During the 3-month Experience Lab we used a variety of techniques to get under the skin of this topic in an unprecedented way. We integrated quantitative analysis of data with in-depth qualitative analysis via open-ended surveys, audience panels and interviews.

1. Automotive purchasing and behavioural data Sample size: 48,345 UK women

2. Deep dive survey Sample size: 719 UK women

3. Hark research panel Sample size: 68 panel members

4. One-to-one interviews Sample size: 12 in-depth interviews

We partnered with Mumsnet and Reevoo to reach their consumer panels of women to conduct the deep dive survey. Survey participants spanned a cross-section of the UK, including region, age, family types and social-economic group.

All data sources include representation from, and can be segmented into, the following demographic groups:

Empty Nesters Female, aged 45-64 with children aged 21+

Millennials Female, aged 19-34

Mothers Female, aged 18-64 with children under 21

Above average earning professionals (Professionals) Female, employed, personal income of 32,001+


Experience Lab tasksIn order to get beyond the data, we asked our Experience Lab members to carry out a series of creative tasks including:

Writing a love letter to an auto brand

Writing hate mail to an auto brand

Visualising their shortlisting process

Uploading or creating a visualisation of the experience of dealerships

Evaluating car advertising

More detailed information on methodology and data sources is found in the Appendix on page 92.


Executive summary, experience is everything

In todays connected world consumer experience is your brand. Your brand is defined, not by a marketing team or agency, but by how people experience it.

Our study shows unequivocally what we think the industry has known instinctively for some time; women are disenfranchised by the automotive industry.

The picture is a nuanced one. There are elements of the experience that delight and dismay the female consumer in equal measure. We explore both sides in this report.

Parts of the consumer experience are so broken that they are tarnishing the entire female perception and experience of the industry. Marketing, dealership and service experiences are disproportionately exasperating and are driving a wedge between women and automotive as a whole:

90% of the female consumers surveyed would not visit a car dealership without a male partner, male family member or male friend

56% said they felt patronised by car advertising

34% believe that no car brand understands women

Some of the stories shared by the members of our Experience Lab will make you chuckle, some will make you wince and some will make you downright angry.

Did you know? In the UK alone, women are expected to own 60% of all personal wealth by 20251. You already know what an important demographic women are. There are great initiatives underway in some major automotive players; the problem is that these iterations are not radically transforming the female consumer experience.

How is the automotive industry, ripe for disruption, going to tap into this potential? Will traditional OEMs develop experiences that are capable of connecting powerfully with the female market without diminishing their value to men? Or will it take a bold new entrant (from Silicon Valley or beyond?) to finally create a delightful experience for every female car buyer?

It is time to stop iterating and start innovating. It is time for a consumer experience revolution in automotive.

1Source: Centre for Economics and Business Research


ContentsForeword 2

Approach 3

Experience Lab methodology 4

Executive summary, experience is everything 6

Introduction 9

Brand experience 13Favourite car brands 14

What makes a favourite? 15

Least favourite car brands 16

What makes a least favourite? 17

Do car brands get women? 18

Mini and gendering 19

Even women stereotype women 20

Does car advertising work? 20

Women dont think car advertising is for them 21

What ads do women love? 22

What type of ads do women dislike? 23

TV ads are struggling to be memorable 25

Buying experience 26New consumer journey model 27

Trigger points 29

Scoping 30

Inspiration 31

Hardcore research 31

Price comparison 32

Validation 33

Test drive 33

Purchase 34

Sources of information and advice 34

What are women looking for in a car? 35

Substance over styling 36

Reliability 36

Size and space 37

Performance 38

A bit of character 38

Room for emotional connection 39


Dealership experience 40The dealership in the car buying process 40

The role of the dealership 42

Importance of the test drive 43

Dealership for showrooming 43

A new kind of showroom experience 44

Dealership for negotiations 45

Dealership to build confidence 45

Are women ready for a full end-to-end online experience? 46

Case study: BMW Retail Online 46

What do women really feel about the dealership experience? 47

What do women hate about dealerships? 49

6 dealership commandments 49

1. Thou shalt not make wild assumptions 49

2. Thou shalt not make me feel like a small child 50

3. Thou shalt not direct all conversation to my husband 51

4. Thou shalt not look at my children with fear in thine eyes 51

5. Thou shalt not direct me straight to the family cars 52

6. Thou shalt listen to my needs 52

Going the extra mile really pays off 56

Ownership experience 59Servicing and maintenance 59

Little things = big difference 61

From ownership to advocacy 61

The recipe for success 63

From advocacy to loyalty 64

Surpassing ownership expectations 65

Forming an emotional connection 65

How to earn a customers long-term loyalty 67

Customer experience for service-based companies 68

What women want 71But what does being customer-centric really mean? 73

Experience Innovation 74

Creating a delightful consumer experience 76

Ripe for disruption 76

1. Complex experiences 76

2. Broken trust 76

3. Redundant intermediaries 76

Dont understand, empathise 77

Do one thing 78


Introduction

If you take nothing else from reading this report take these three points:

1. You no longer define your brand; your brand is defined by the people who experience it.

2. This process is always-on. The consumer journey is not a funnel. It is not even a circular journey from awareness to consideration, to purchase, to advocacy. It is a messier process where brand experience is affected at every moment, by every touchpoint.

3. Most of the time these touchpoints are not controlled by you.

Thats why the experience of 50% of your target market (women) matters so much. It influences their perceptions and the perceptions of all consumers (men and women).

The reality is that women experience delight and dismay at their experience of automotive in equal measure.

But why do 90% of the women surveyed feel the need to take a male partner, male family member or male friend with them to buy a car at a dealership?

Our conclusion is that the times of dismay are so exasperating that they overshadow the majority of the good experiences. This leaves women feeling (in their own words):

Confused, uncomfortable, unpleasant, dreadful, horrific, tortuous, hideous, diabolical, demeaning, patronising, ghastly, sickening

If we sum up the five strongest themes from this report for you to use to develop an experience transformation brief for your marketing and sales teams, they would be:

1. Stop making assumptionsDespite the millions invested in research every year, the experiences of women who participated in our Experience Lab show that a high proportion of consumer experience design in automotive is based on assumptions and not critical thinking (if indeed consumer experience design is considered a strategic priority at all). We saw evidence of marketing and sales experiences throughout our three-month Experience Lab that showed a real lack of empathy and understanding of the female consumer. Above all else our Lab participants want automotive to stop making assumptions and start to get them as consumers.


2. Stop patronising me

It is these assumptions that give rise to patronising marketing and sales activities. Time and again we heard Lab members talk about being stereotyped or spoken to like a child. In one activity, we asked Lab members to visualise their dealership experience. Here is a montage of their experiences:


3. Give me character, not cutseyWomen take enormous offense to the gendering of vehicles or marketing campaigns. This is not because they object to being targeted as a female demographic. Instead, it is because this gendering is based on assumptions that lead to patronising stereotypes. Advertising campaigns in particular are viewed with exasperation.

Women want to have their brain engaged. This is evident in the meticulous research they carry out prior to creating their shortlist. But they also want their hearts engaged. They talked about clever auto brands, able to manage both, winning their custom.

4. The little things make a big differenceOf all the positive experiences we charted during the Experience Lab one consistent theme came through. It is the little, personal touches that make the biggest difference to this group. This is how auto brands can win.

5. The dealership is (making or) breaking your brand90% or women take a man with them when visiting a dealership. What does this say about brand automotive in 2016? Experience really is everything and 90% of women experience automotive as alienating to the extent they feel they need male backup when parting with their own hard-earned cash.

This report is split into four sections to represent the four distinct experience states we observed women identified when talking about their total consumer experience:

1. Brand experience

2. Buying experience

3. Dealership experience

4. Ownership experience

It is important to understand that these experience states are not linear. Brand experience in particular is happening and impacting female consumer decisions constantly.

For each of these four states, we have attributed a satisfaction score to help you understand, in a snapshot, the sum total of the female experience.

I am the main decision-maker when it comes to our car. So why on earth is buying a car the only time in our ten-year relationship when I shrink behind my husband rather than standing side by side. Why has the auto industry got it so wrong when it comes to courting my not-so-insignificant new car budget?

Kate, 38.


Scores are based on our interpretation of the quantitative and qualitative analysis to provide a picture of overall female satisfaction with automotive.

Now lets find out about the delights and dismay of the female consumer before exploring what you can do to transform the female consumer experience of your auto brand.


If your brand is defined by the people who experience it and they give a satisfaction score of 4/10 (unsatisfactory), you have a problem.

It is fair to say that the industry has moved on from a funnel model to describe the path to purchase. In recent years, this has been replaced with various iterations of the McKinsey consumer journey model, certainly a better interpretation of what actually happens and has driven incremental change in automotive over the last 5 years.

Car brands understand very stereotypical women. Not all women, no. Theyre very generalised in the way of it being All girls like small cars, pink steering wheel...

Emma, 22

However, our research shows that what is understood as the awareness stage, often depicted as one step in the linear consumer journey, is happening and impacting female consumer decisions constantly. The impression that auto brands have on women is not something that gets forgotten once they are onto the next step in the purchase

Brand experience

What do women think and feel about car brands and marketing?

DISSATISFIED


Ford, Audi, Volkswagen and BMW stood out as the most loved car brands; brands that fit into the top 10 bestselling car marques in the UK during the first quarter of 2015 according to the SMMT. The only brands finishing in the top 10 list that didnt fall within the SMMTs top 10 were Land Rover (13th best selling brand in the UK) and Volvo (21st best selling brand in the UK).

Whilst we did receive a handful of Aston Martins, Lotus and Bugattis, the favourites brand list is made up of mainly mainstream makes, varying from economy to luxury, but all commonly seen on the road.

Of particular interest was the percentage of women who do not have a favourite car brand, 15% of women (higher than expressed a preference for any brand) said they did not have or did not know their favourite. This suggests they have yet to form any strong affinity with any manufacturer.

funnel/cycle. Even the smallest details: a bad servicing experience, a dislike of a certain models drivers, a crass ad, can stay fixed in the memory for years.

In this section we explore womens reactions to brand and model marketing activity, and the effect this has on brand perception.

Favourite car brandsWe asked women to tell us their favourite car brand and why. An even split of standard and premium car brands were cited as most favoured brands, and these broadly matched the best-selling car brands in the UK.

0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16%

Top ten favourite car brands


What makes a favourite?We asked women why they chose a particular brand as their favourite. In an open question (not guided by pre-selected options) we received a range of responses but by far the number one answer was reliability. Over one third (39%) of women gave reliability as the reason for choosing their favourite brand.

A reason for the overlap between the favourite brands list and the SMMTs best-selling cars list is that women select their favourite brands based on personal experience. Selecting a brand for its reliability is almost always based on prior ownership rather than aspiration. Women are practical and realistic when it comes to their perception of car brands, and when it comes to behaviours like researching cars to buy (see Buying Experience).

The top five reasons given for favouring brands were:

1. Reliability (39%) e.g. reliable, safe, well built, solid

2. Stylish (18%) e.g. styling, attractive design, sleek

3. Brand image (12%) e.g. classy, prestige, heritage, cool, fun, innovative, reputation

4. Practical (10%) e.g. comfortable, practical, good size, space

5. Performance (8%) e.g. good to drive, fun, powerful, fast

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

Reliability

Stylish

Brand image

Practical

Performance

Value for money

Great service

Safety

Technology

Top reasons given for favourite brand


Least favourite car brandsFord and BMW appear in both the top 10 most loved and most hated car brands for women. However, the least favourite car brand list is more divided in terms of UK bestsellers. From our least favourite list, BMW, Ford, Peugeot and Vauxhall are all UK top 10 bestsellers, but Fiat (16th), Renault (14th), Skoda (15th), Smart (30th) and Daewoo (outside top 30) are all outside of the top ten. Fiat is disproportionately mentioned negatively against its sales figures.

Most automotive brands had some detractors, even the likes of Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and MG. Only Aston Martin, Jaguar, Lexus and Tesla escaped unscathed.

When we dug deeper to understand why BMW was named the least favourite car brand, it became clear that it was the BMW owners and drivers rather than the brand itself that gave women a bad impression. Heres what some of the detractors had to say about their reasons for choosing BMW as their least favourite:

BMW drivers tend to drive aggressively so associate that with the brand (sweeping generalisation!)

Mumsnet (anonymous)

BMWs are often driven by posers who arent very good at actual driving. This puts me off the brand.

Mumsnet (anonymous)

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

Dont know

BMW

Fiat

Ford

Renault

Skoda

Smart

Peugeot

Daewoo

Vauxhall

Ten LEAST favourite car brands


As we saw with womens favourite car brands, dont know was the most common choice; 35% of women failed to name a lease favourite brand. Women are more likely to have a favourite brand than a least favourite, with 85% women selecting a favourite vs. 65% who named a least favourite.

What makes a least favourite?The number one reason for a least favourite is poor quality. Women talk about cheap and nasty brands they would never consider. We have classified such comments separately to reliability (or in this case unreliability) as although quality and reliability are linked, reliability relates directly to mechanical failures and repairs.

Styling and image are the second and third most common reasons for women disliking brands, and these reasons are attributed to all manner of automotive brands. When women talk about the wrong brand image it is in relation to themselves, so brands they deem too flashy or brands that have a reputation for a type of driver (BMW!) that doesnt match their personality are penalised. Brands being too mass market, too male orientated or too mumsy are also reasons for being womens least favourite.

Top reasons given for disliking brands:

1. Poor quality (21%) e.g. poor quality, cheap, nasty, basic, flimsy, unsafe

2. Styling (17%) e.g. poor styling, image, looks ugly, frumpy, boring

3. Wrong brand image (14%) e.g. wrong image, too male-oriented, too mass market, boring, horrible drivers

4. Unreliable (12%) e.g. unreliable, problematic, nothing but trouble

5. Impractical (6%) e.g. too big, not enough leg room, not enough space

BMW drivers have a stigma, rightly or wrongly, of being selfish drivers.

Mumsnet (anonymous).

Because most of the idiots on the road seem to drive BMWs.



Do car brands get women?We asked women which car brands they thought understood women. A lot of respondents struggled with this question, and over a third of women (34%) could not name one brand they thought really understood female consumers.

Of those that did suggest an automotive brand, Mini was the top selection at 22%, followed by Volkswagen (19%) and Ford (17%).

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

Poor quality

Styling

Wrong brand image

Unreliable

Impractical

Dont trust brand

Bad service

Boring to drive

Poor value for money

Top reasons given for LEAST favourite brand

Which brands understand women?

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%


The women in our Experience Lab talked about the perception of car brands understanding women and said that when brands do appear to directly target them it is often only as a mother, with family cars, playing heavily on the safety message. They suggested those brands that seem to understand women actually only understand families.

It is interesting that women perceive Mini to be the top brand that understands the female consumer, but it only finished as 11th most favourite car brand.

Mini and genderingAlthough Mini was the top brand cited as appearing to understand the female mindset, one of our Experience Lab members took to the hate mail task to speak out against the gendering of its models:

Car brands understand very stereotypical women. Not all women, no. I dont think so. Theyre very generalised in the way of it being All girls like small cars, pink steering wheel... Yeah I think its very generalised.

Emma, 22.

Im not sure that they take women into account as much as men. I mean you never find any women in car dealerships, do you?

Sarah, 50.

Dear Sirs,

Because all of you at the head of BMW are sirs, right? One lady on your board of

management. And of course, she works in HR.

Your marketing of the Mini Cooper, in which I learned to drive, has been very

clever. The pretty little cars have captured the minds of all of us Barbie-

wannabes.

But its not that Im writing to talk about. Its the interesting way in which you

are trying to masculinise your offering with the Mini Cooper Clubman, Countryman

and Paceman, including subsequent models.

34% of women dont think ANY automotive brands understand women


Even women stereotype womenWhen thinking about themselves personally, their opinions and their preferences, women put forward one picture. But when asked what they think about women in general, they may also revert to stereotypes. Throughout our interviews, when asked about brands targeting women as a whole, we found many participants talking about women as bad drivers, liking small cars, and being focused on colours. Even though they do not put these elements as important for themselves when they are buying a car.

Including man in the car model name is ingenious, first of all. How many seconds did

it take you to come up with that one?

And the chunky wheels, exhaust and beefed up exterior will ensure no man is seen

embarrassing themselves by driving a feminine little Mini Cooper.

My question is, why generalise? Why have masculine and feminine cars? I can easily

drive a Clubman. So surely, it would make sense to target me, too?

It was only when an ex-boyfriend brought the subject up did this even enter my mind.

I want a new car, but Mini Coopers are so girly, he said. Like it was some kind of

insult to his masculinity to even suggest it.

We spotted a Clubman parked up one day, and he very nearly changed his mind.

But I started thinking, why do cars need a gender? And should they?

And why is femininity perceived as a bad thing for a car?

Well Ive found my answer while searching for your board of management: Male, stale

and pale.

Next time, Id suggest redesigning the mini logo in a phallic style, just to be

really, really sure men know Mini Coopers are for them, too.

Kind regards,

Rachael

Does car advertising work?When analysing the reasons for loving and hating brands, and reviewing conversations sparked in our Experience Lab by seeing car ads (print and video), it was clear that great advertising wont make women love car brands, but WILL make them hate them.

Ford are good at targeting women, they do lots of little cars. Nissan. Because not all women like little cars but Im a stereotypical woman of, cant do parallel parking. I just dont know how it works. I can, it just takes me about 10 minutes. So Nissan, Ford and Renault. They all do little dinky parkable cars.

Laura, 32.


Dear Renault, many years ago you advertised the Megane in a hugely sexist manner. I decided at the time not only to not buy a Megane but never in fact to buy any Renault. All these years later nothing has changed.

Teresa, 42.

Women dont think car advertising is for themWomen do not identify with the majority of automotive advertising and marketing, so whilst they are aware of the car ads they see, they dont feel it is aimed at them.

I think quite a lot of car advertising is quite cheesy so I tend to think Oh god and then switch over. But I think theyre trying to appeal to families, that sort of demographic.

Victoria, 34

Our survey showed us that 56% of women feel patronised by car advertising, a theme that was supported in the Experience Lab. The idea that women are only interested in girly cars or family cars comes through in a lot of the ads that women take offence to.

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

What do you think about car advertising?

Yes NoDont Know


What ads do women love?We showed a variety of car ads to the women in our Experience Lab. Responses were very mixed, with some women loving some ads that others were offended by.

Below are the top three characteristics cited by UK women commenting on the print ads that they liked from our selection. All adverts posted as stimulus (by Different Spin and participants) can be found in the Appendix.

1. Different/clever/fun/bright Playful ads that stand out or made our Lab members think were appreciated. Bright colours was one aspect that stood out, but ads that gave the cars some character or put them in an interesting context worked well. Mini October or the VW Beetle Cabriolet ads are good examples.

Love this advert. Minimalist, fun, clever - and not your average, generic car ad. Thumbs up!

Elise, 32.

69% of women think that car advertising often makes false assumptions about the role of the woman and the shape of a modern family. This, along with a feeling of being patronised has led to women becoming disenfranchised with car advertising and marketing.

56% of women feel patronised by car advertising

69% of women think car advertising makes false assumptions about families


Like this - but I am a sucker for anything Scandi and have owned a number of Volvos over the years. It seems to be treating its targets as grown ups, professionals, and I like the fact that its not really gender specific. Think this ad would appeal to both sexes.

Leigh, 46

3. Non-gendered Our Lab members made a point to mention when they deemed ads to be non-gendered. This was always seen in a positive light. However, ads that they thought were too gendered (either masculine or feminine) were disliked.

Reaction to most of the ads was subjectively varied (with some exceptions see below), to account for different design tastes. Some negative reactions were based purely on colour or copy. However, the positioning of the ads and the meaning behind them drew deeper debate and saw stronger trends of agreement.

What type of ads do women dislike?1. Overly gendered for males

Our Lab members discussed some ads that were obviously aimed at a male audience, including the 2008 BMW print ad (You know youre not the first) that was eventually withdrawn after negative public reaction. The reaction in these cases was predictably strong, with many women calling out sexism and arrogance. Where female models were featured in place of the car Lab members struggled to see the relevance for a car ad.

Eww eww eww and eww! A) wheres the car and B) wheres the freaking car! This is perverted and creepy.

Emily, 19

Personally, I think this is the best ad. Its visually pleasing - nice and simple with a very clear message.

Jessica, 40

2. Authentic/straightforward/simple design Lab members appreciated ads that did not appear to fool them with jargon or small print. Whilst they want to be treated as adults and served the information they need, they do not want to hear over inflated claims in slogans or see half a page of small print. Skoda Fabia or Citroen Cactus are good examples.


2. Overly gendered for females The Lab was equally offended by ads that appeared to try too hard to appear feminine. Ads like the Fiat500 Lifes too short to wear a boring car or Catwalk technology that both feature strong fashion and beauty messaging and imagery alienated women who didnt approve of the shallow connotations. Like using pink as shorthand to label an ad as feminine (see below), car ads with fashion and beauty themes are also seen as lazy, patronising and even offensive.

Why does a woman want to match her clothing to her car?! It doesnt make me want to buy the car any more - in fact, it makes me think that Fiat thinks women are idiots and if it looks pretty then obviously I must have it! Wrong.

Anna, 28

3. Too complicated Aside from gender politics, the other type of ads women disliked were those that included a lot of information, jargon, copy or scenarios that seemed too visually confusing.

I dislike this one because of how gendered it is. It feels like its talking down to women a little like Oh here look at this pretty car, it links to fashion, you ladies like fashion right? To me its the other end of the scale from car adverts that cater specifically to men through sexualisation of womens bodies. This one isnt as harmful in that respect though, but its overtones and assumptions are very sexist and undermine women.

Holly, 22

The pink debateIts not that British women hate the colour pink, its that they see it as shorthand for Im trying to appeal to women here. A lazy option when there are so many colours that appeal to women. Naturally there were women in our study who were attracted to ads featuring pink as they like the colour and it stands out to them.

This advert appeals to me because it looks fresh, modern and feminine (anything pink will catch my eye!).

Faye, 24

The issue is not with using pink in ads geared towards women it is in always using pink to say heres one for the girls. After seeing multiple ads using this approach to label themselves as feminine, women see it as unoriginal, trying too hard to appear girly and often failing the equivalent of a teenagers parents trying to connect with them by saying on fleek and bae.


TV ads are struggling to be memorable77% of women said that they struggled to remember car ads as they either all seemed the same or that they were just unmemorable. When trying to recall the last adverts they had seen some women could only bring to mind the old Renault Clio (Nicole and Papa) TV ads.

Perhaps we are seeing this lack of recall because women do not think automotive advertising is addressing their needs or really speaking to them. Perhaps they zone out if they think the ads arent for them?

I think car advertising on TV is a load of bollocks. Say if you watch it on the TV, they make the car look amazing. They make the car look either a lot bigger than it is, if its a manly car, or a lot smaller, if its a feminine car.

Emma, 22

There are so many different types of woman and so many shades in the colour spectrum to choose from - must we always resort the same one...

Melissa, 27

I did see an advert recently for a pink car and it was targeting women. It had a woman on the poster and the car was pink but I dont remember what the brand was. Probably because I just scoffed and then was like meh.

Rebecca, 22


Buying experience

How do women approach car buying research and evaluation?

In-market female car buyers are meticulous in compiling their long-list and shortlist following a remarkably uniform process to reach a decision. They find the process of devising a long-list and then refining it to a shortlist (usually of 1 or 2 models) hugely empowering, using expert opinions, ratings and reviews by other customers, and the brands own product information (in that order) to narrow down their shortlist.

Crucially most women have made their decision before setting foot in a dealership but value the test drive experience to validate that decision. A bad test drive or dealership experience can and does turn women off buying a brand, not just this time, but for life.

I am ashamed to say I hand over to my husband to contact dealers and test drive. I absolutely HATE going to dealerships myself. If I could buy a car at the touch of a button online, I would.

Kate, 38

This is the part of the automotive experience women are most satisfied with and feel most in control of.

Is this because automotive has invested huge amounts in recent years on the brand touchpoints experienced by in-market car buyers?

Or because the in-market touchpoints are not with manufacturers or dealers, but with the people who have experience of the brand or model, people like me?

Our research suggests a bit of both.

860,000 women in the UK are in the market to buy a car right now 2

2Source: Global Web Index. Women planning to purchase a car in next 6 months. Q3, 2015

GOOD


Females play a crucial role in decision-makingIn 2014 Frost and Sullivan rocked the car world with news that every woman already knew, 80% of automotive buying decisions are influenced by women. The results of our Experience Lab support this assertion. Women are broadly the ones who plan, research and make the decision. Pulling husbands, partners or male friends in at the final hurdle; the dreaded visit to the dealer. No wonder, for so long the industry assumption was (and clearly in many cases still is) that men hold the purse strings.

In particular, our survey of the Mumsnet community found that 93% of women buying a family car with their husband/partner are involved in the car research and planning process. Of those involved, a further 82% of women are equally or mainly responsible for research, planning and decision-making. Only 7% of women are not involved in this process at all. By family car, we mean the car most often used when the whole family travel together.

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New consumer journey model Our respondents were very clear on the approach they take (or would take next time theyre in market) to research the best car for them. Many follow a very similar pattern of a) establishing their priorities b) online research c) advice on shortlist from family and friends d) test driving their final selection/s at a dealership. On-road observation is also important for evaluating design and styling, and usually happens naturally as in-market consumers become more aware of the cars around them.

Online research plays an increasingly important role, as women arm themselves with as much knowledge as possible before they face the dealership or seller.


Always go to Google first. Thats my first instinct to finding more about anything - any movie trivia question and Im on IMDB in no time, any ingredient I dont recognise in a recipe Ill find in a search, so when I dont know about a product (be it a phone or car) online is the first place I start my knowledge gaining.

Emer, 34.

Many respondents could not pin down one main source of information, citing multiple sources as equally important, including their own personal experience from prior ownership/brand loyalty. Whilst the dealership is still very important for the main purpose of test drive access, it is not the obvious main choice of information provision it used to be.

Based on our qualitative analysis, we have mapped out the process that is undertaken by women once they have decided to start looking for a new car.

1. SCOPING: map out requirements and budget

2. INSPIRATION: starting point to guide the search

3. HARDCORE RESEARCH: deep online research to create a shortlist

4. PRICE COMPARISON: understanding different price points and financing options available

5. VALIDATION: final check to make sure shortlist is sound

6. TEST DRIVE: head to the dealership once Ive decided the 1-3 cars I want to buy

7. PURCHASE: either negotiate with the dealer, or go online to find the best deal

Each of these stages will be explained in more detail in this section.

But first, what are the trigger points? What happens to lead women to decide its time to start looking for a new car?


When women talk about the triggers that might cause them to start looking for a new car, the top reasons involve maintenance, servicing and unreliability issues. More women felt that issues with their car itself would be the main reason for replacing, rather than changes in personal circumstance for example.

Generally women want to get as much out of their cars as possible, or as much as is economically viable. This is why half (56%) of the women surveyed said that they would only think about replacing their car if things were going wrong and it was becoming too unreliable, or if the cost of maintenance and servicing became too high. 16% would only replace their car if it was a total write-off.

15% of women pointed to factors that could affect resale and depreciation such as age and mileage, even if the car was still fully functional. 4% of the women surveyed said that as a matter of course they always change their car every 2-3 years, before it needs to go in for its first MOT, as they love driving newer cars, especially because of the constant improvements to fuel efficiency and safety.

Only 18% of the women surveyed anticipated that a change in family circumstances or a desire for more space in the car (extra legroom, seats or boot space) would be their main driving force behind looking for a new car.

4% of women did not need a reason for deciding to buy a new car, other than they were likely to become bored of driving the same car over time and they might fancy a change.

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Trigger points


[Id look for a new car if there was] somebody passing their driving test who then needs to share car ownership and also somebody who will take my car away from me because they get a job locally and they need to have a car and leave me without one. So yeah theres always a reason to buy a new car, unfortunately its not usually down to me.

Tania, 52.

ScopingAlthough some women wanted to jump straight into researching new cars to buy, many identified an important pre-research stage where they scope out their needs.

The first thing I do is list all my requirements and budget, than I will start doing the research according to my need and get a few models on my list.

Hata, 32.

They work out as many requirements as possible based on what they already know before they start researching, in order to narrow down the search. The most common requirements women scope at this stage are size and seats i.e. do I need an estate or a super mini? They then work out their main priorities to give them a framework for evaluation i.e. is fuel economy more or less important than space?

[The first thing I do is] consider needs and wants e.g. the priorities I rank for choosing a car.

Gill, 49.

It is also important for many women to understand a rough budget they can work with early on, as price is one of the most important factors. Initial outlay is one price consideration, but insurance costs, fuel consumption and resale value/depreciation are also taken into account. Insurance costs are particularly of importance to Millennial women who have been driving fewer years and can be a major factor affecting purchase decisions.

Less obvious trigger points included spotting a financing offer they couldnt refuse, getting a new job and having a different commute, moving to the country or moving into a more urban area, a change (either way) in financial circumstances and having children reach an age where theyre learning to drive. This often leads to either needing to change the car for one with cheaper insurance for learner drivers, or needing to buy another car because the kids sharing the car has evolved to the kids owning the car.


InspirationThe inspiration phase is the starting point for all car searches whether our female participants recognised this or not. However, the sources that women draw inspiration from at this stage vary greatly.

A Google search is usually the first source of inspiration, but what women type into the search engine depends on their needs and personalities. Some women are finance-led, for example they look online for articles about the cheapest cars to insure or the best new cars on a 250 per month PCP deal. A smaller percentage are led by emissions so will search for articles and reports listing the best and most energy efficient cars and start from there.

Some women cited online car selection tools as a useful way to get inspiration based on the personal requirements they know about. The Auto Trader Help me choose a car tool was mentioned as a useful starting point by women with less experience in buying cars.

Some will have a favourite manufacturer in mind, either the brand theyve always driven, the brand their parents swore by, or the brand theyve always wanted to drive. In these cases, they go straight to the manufacturers website for inspiration, although it is rare to use a manufacturer website as a starting point (see Price comparison).

In terms of offline sources of inspiration, which also feature heavily at this early stage, women talk about drawing inspiration from the cars they see on the road. They become more aware of the cars around them once they have entered the car buying mindset, and, especially those women who class themselves as very design-led, will look to the road for inspiration.

I normally just see a car when Im driving around and either like the shape and style of a car. Im quite led by what I like design wise.

Anna, 28.

Finally, a small proportion of women will ask friends and family for recommendations. They want to know which brands and models are trusted by their close network, especially if any of them happen to work in the automotive industry. However, it is quite rare for women to go to their friends and family for inspiration at this early stage. This is not to say they dont consider recommendations from their connections quite the opposite but for women this tends to come in once theyve already conducted a lot of their own research and arrived at a shortlist.

Hardcore researchThis phase takes place almost entirely online, with the exception of a small number of women who like to use Which? or consumer car magazines. This is the phase where many women feel very comfortable, and by the end will have arrived at their initial shortlist.

I then do research - I am a research queen. I look everywhere from Auto Trader to What Car? What gets the best reviews and why?

Anna, 28.


Women talk about spending a lot of time on specialist automotive websites such as What Car?, Autotrader, Auto Express and Parkers to read in-depth articles and reviews. Women use these websites to compare models based on the requirements and priorities they had scoped. Manufacturer websites are also used at this stage if certain details and specifications are not provided on other websites. Here, women will fact-find to be able to compare data about models against their priorities, using safety ratings, price ranges, MPG figures and measurements.

I then look online at reviews written by humans.

Rachael, 25.

Customer review websites like Reevoo and owner reviews on websites like Parkers are used as trusted sources of information by female shoppers who want to see unfiltered reviews from real people like them. If they are already users of a particular online community like Mumsnet, or regular readers of blogs, they can be influenced by reviews on these sites. 42% of women say they would use social media, blogs or forums for advice and information at this stage.

Price comparisonThe hardcore research phase will have narrowed the car search down to a shortlist of 3-5 favourites. The next phase is about selecting exact specifications and getting as much information on pricing as possible. Women want to make sure theyre getting the best deal, whether theyre buying new, second hand or leasing.

When Ive narrowed it down to a handful of models, I research online to get an idea of price - and if there is a particular car Id like to buy, Ill run a background price/ownership/mileage check on it prior to test-driving.

Gill, 49.

Women look for all available financing options or scour the second hand car websites for the models of their choice to compare costs. If theyre buying from a dealership, its rare that women would want to walk into the forecourt without arming themselves with information and a good idea of pricing. There is a perception that car salespeople

Women are twice as likely to use customer review sites for information on cars than manufacturer websites


Please see the Dealership Experience section for a full analysis of what women do and how they feel about the dealership.

Second-hand car buyers also spend time comparing prices of cars from private sellers on websites like Gumtree, eBay, Exchange and Mart and Auto Trader, to look for the best deals and to give them extra confidence to enable negotiations on a purchase theyd like to make.

ValidationWhen their initial shortlist has been narrowed down to the 1-3 cars to test drive, they look back to previous sources for validation of their choices. Often, this will be by asking friends and family if they have any personal experience of owning the shortlisted cars. Women may also revisit customer review sites for final validation, or check social media to see the opinion of new customers.

At this stage women are mainly looking for approval of their shortlist by the people they trust. It is interesting that despite friends and family being seen as very trusted sources, many women choose not to ask for advice from their personal connections until they have researched and developed their own shortlist first. The more interested they are in cars, the later they leave it to consult friends and family

Test driveSo now the time finally comes to set foot in the dealership to test drive the 1-3 cars of their choice. This is generally not an activity most women relish, although it is fair to say that are a small percentage of women only get engaged and excited by the car buying process when they see, touch and importantly drive the cars (rather than reading about them on websites). Whilst many women relish the research stage and feel in their element systematically working through online reviews, its certainly not for everyone.

I only got excited and engaged when I got to drive the cars. My decision to purchase is based on how the car drives and how it looks.

Teresa, 42.

If I were purchasing from a dealership, although I would ask them questions, I wouldnt go in blind, and would have to have done a good bit of research online first.

Maria, 29.

will try to rip off female customers so to counteract this, many women talk about the online research and price comparison stage as giving them the extra confidence to have the right conversations when they eventually step foot in the dealership.


Purchase Assuming a test drive has gone well, the final stage in the car buying process is the purchase itself. Whether buying through a dealer or private seller, most women admit that they take a male partner, family member or friend with them for the final negotiation and sale. Further analysis on this phase is detailed in the next section: Dealership Experience.

Sources of information and adviceIt is incredibly rare that a woman will rely on just one or two information sources during her car buying process. As we have seen, advice and information sources are wide-ranging and vary from on-road observation to customer review sites.

We know that online research is incredibly important for women in the car buying process, and customer review sites, specialist automotive websites, and car manufacturer websites (in that order) were named as key sources of information by approximately 78% of all women surveyed.

It was also important for women to source recommendations from more objective sources than manufacturer websites or salespeople. This is why customer review sites like Reevoo and consumer reports are relied upon, as well as first hand experience and advice from friends and family.

However, when asked to pinpoint their main source of advice and information during the whole process car dealership took top spot. Whilst multiple sources are used at different points in the process, the test drive is such a crucial experience for women to be able to feel first hand what the car is like to drive.

Almost a quarter of women selected the car dealership as their number one source of information. For some, they like to be able to ask questions face to face but it is the test drive that makes the dealership visit so important.

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Top three priorities when choosing a car to buy

We asked women to tell us what their main priorities were when choosing a car. Price is the key factor, coming in at least twice as important as safety or styling.

It really all comes down to money for me. Safety and comfort are luxuries - the price is really the big determiner.

Melissa, 27.

Price also features in the second and third most important factors, both in reliability, which covers upkeep, repair and servicing costs, and fuel economy, which covers both environmental and economic benefits.

I care greatly about the environment and if I were to buy a car I would have to get one that wasnt too damaging to the environment. Obviously with the above point in mind too I wouldnt want to buy a car that guzzles fuel... both for environmental reasons but would definitely not be wanting to pay too much for fuel.

Maria, 29.

What are women looking for in a car?


The price factor is a consideration that is not limited to young or lower income female consumers. Even those with bigger budgets still want to make sure theyre getting value for money.

Substance over stylingWhilst women do talk about what they like and dont like when it comes to car design, styling featured mid-table as a priority and colour was bottom of the list. When pushed to prioritise, women are more concerned about practical and economic factors rather than design. They dont want to drive something they hate the look of, but they are happy to compromise on appearance if it means a more comfortable drive or bank balance.

Often the perception of reliability is subjective and will come from personal experience or the recommendations of

When it comes to design I dont expect too much but I dont want a bad looking one.

Hata, 32.

Interestingly, many women seemed embarrassed or ashamed of admitting when styling, design or colour is an important factor. The few women listing design aesthetic as a priority felt like they needed to justify their answer or apologise for it. Some said they thought it made them sound clich or shallow if they added styling and colour to their priority list.

I know it sounds shallow but how it looks always, its got to look right. So there are certain cars that I would never even contemplate looking at just because they dont appeal.

Tania, 52.

Perhaps women are fighting against the apparent stereotype that they are only interested in how the car looks and not how it drives? From the results of this study that stereotype is certainly unfounded. Or perhaps mums, experts at being practical for the children and putting them first, dont like to admit to what may be seen as a more indulgent desire?

Reliability Most of the priorities on this list are visible (size, styling, technology) or easily researched online or at the dealership (price, fuel economy, engine size). Reliability, which is the second highest priority and listed in the top three factors by 45% of women, is more difficult to find out about.

Reliability as a single parent, one-car family I depend on my car to keep my life running smoothly, so its got to be reliable.

Gill, 49.


Size and spaceWhether we were hearing from a new driver who only feels comfortable driving a small car, or a mum of three large teenagers arguing over who has to sit in the middle seat, size and space is a top priority for women choosing a new car.

Those looking to buy smaller cars gave two main reasons for this, ease of driving and cost. Women talked about small cars being manoeuvrable and the benefits of driving and parking smaller cars in urban areas. Some, mostly newer drivers, werent confident driving a larger car and wanted something closer to the car theyre used to driving and learning in. Women looking for smaller cars talked about them being cheaper to buy, efficient to run, and cheaper to insure.

Size - as a new driver I think I would want to stick with a small-medium sized car for ease of parking and navigating narrow streets! Plus I dont have any children so I wouldnt need a lot of space in the back.

Faye, 24.

Women looking for a larger car list more or bigger seats for the family (either new family members or children growing into teenagers/adults), legroom and boot space as the main reasons for size being a top priority. As we discovered earlier on in this section (trigger points), the desire for more space to fit in a growing family, dogs or equipment is a common trigger to start a new car buying journey.

Those women taking longer car journeys, especially on motorways, on a regular basis also talked about wanting something a bit bigger.

Suitable size for my needs - Id be looking for something thats small enough to be able to manoeuvre/park in a city, whilst large enough to do motorway journeys and not feel tiny/vulnerable against all the other traffic!

Kelly, 28.

When it comes to space and convenience inside the car it is really important for mums that they can fit the childrens car seats in easily. In fact 17% of Mumsnet users said that this was one of their top three priorities, and featured in more top three lists than engine size and boot space.

friends, family or customer reviews. Whilst manufacturers and dealers can provide objective information on price, spec, MPG, engine size with certainty, female buyers need to trust the opinions and experiences of other drivers in order to gauge how reliable a model or brand might be.


Performance

Although it wasnt listed as a top priority performance, drivability and handling at speed is very important to female drivers who like a more exciting drive. Whilst safety is a huge priority to both mums and less confident or younger drivers, women who are more comfortable behind the wheel also highly value safety because they want a car they can feel confident driving at speed. None of the women surveyed said that they like to drive slowly (although some said they didnt like driving at all) but women did say when they like to drive fast.

A bit of characterFinally, a trend talked about and related to styling, although in a less obvious way, is that many women we spoke to value a car that has character. Whether a car has character or not is often in the eyes of the beholder; one woman mused fondly on her quirky little KA with a broken head gasket, jammed doors and a loose handbrake that ended up rolling down a hill when she was at work.

However, usually when women talk about favouring cars with character they are talking about exterior or interior styling. Whilst character wasnt an option on our survey, nor was it put forward as a key priority in car buying, when exploring reasons for liking or disliking cars at first sight with our Lab it became apparent that an underlying visceral connection with the way a car looks also occurs during the process. Women are much more likely to answer with their head when asked their main priorities in a car buying survey, but when shown pictures and seeing the cars in real life there is a heart reaction going on that is harder for them to pinpoint.

It is not necessarily that women want the slickest-looking car on the road (although most wouldnt say no to a free Lamborghini), rather they are attracted by something that portrays a bit of personality, something a little quirky. Many women mentioned being put off by cars that are labelled as mum cars and dont want to drive a car that portrays a mumsy or frumpy image, despite their practicality.

If Im thinking of buying I look at cars in the street everywhere and one of the most important thing is something thats cute and has character - so many cars are just utterly dull they may as well be cardboard boxes. After driving a Renault Espace for years with the kids I want a car that is fun to drive and look at.

Melissa, 54.

I hate cars that have images attached to them. So for example I would hate to have sort of the family car because I like things that are a bit quirky.

Alison, 50.


I suppose women are often quite practical about what they need. When youre a mum at home, you need a car that you can actually put all the children in, and its got safety belts and its easy and practical. So that in itself immediately becomes a very unsexy thing. But most women arent like that. They dont want to be in that situation, they find themselves in that situation.

Alison, 50.

If manufacturers and dealers can make the car buying experience a) less painful and b) more exciting and fun for women, not only will they connect better with hugely influential consumers, they will also build an affinity that keeps them coming back.

Room for emotional connectionWe have seen from the logical approach to the research process and the top priorities women select for their purchase decisions that they are incredibly practical when it comes to car buying. But it doesnt have to be that way.

There is room for women to have more fun in the car buying process, maintaining their practicality whilst enriching the experience by unlocking the heart as well as the head. As one of our Lab members Alison explains, women often find themselves needing to be sensible and practical one, but that doesnt mean they always want to be

If and when I learn to drive, I know exactly what car Id like. And thats the 2006 Peugeot 107. In yellow. At thats because its the smiley-est car on the market. I mean, LOOK AT IT...

Keri, 26.


Dealership experience

What role does the dealership play and what do women think of them?

This is the part of the automotive experience that is most broken. However, the dealership picture is a nuanced one. We explore both the good and the bad. The problem is that the negative experiences are so bad that they tarnish the entire female perception and experience of the industry. Female consumers do not differentiate between brand/manufacturer and dealership. A bad experience in a dealership can undo any points gained from clever marketing or customer recommendations.

Furthermore, increasingly women make only one or two visits to dealerships. When you have one chance at a face-to-face experience, it is critical to get it right.

How can OEMs empower women by making the test part of the buying process empowering and even delightful?

The dealership in the car buying process

As we saw in the previous chapter, women approach car buying in a logical and systematic way. Unless brand loyalty inspires the buyer to go straight to their favourite brands local dealership and speak to their favourite salesperson without researching other options (this is rare), the dealership visit is unlikely to happen until towards the end of the process.

Dear Ford, I recently came into your showroom to view the cars and consider buying one from you. However, you made it next to impossible for me to even feel any type of way about the car!

Christine, 30.

BAD


Women need to establish their own requirements and conduct thorough research into the market before they walk onto the dealership forecourt. Because of the hardcore research, price comparison and validation stages, this means that women often have a clear idea of the make and model they want to buy before entering the dealership. In fact, it was most common for women to only have visited one dealership before they made their last car purchase, just over a quarter of women did this.

The majority of women visited two dealerships or fewer, with only 37% visiting three or more. This gives the strong indication that many decisions have been made prior to speaking to a salesperson. Many have already got their shortlist down to three, two, sometimes just one model by the time they go for a test drive. Furthermore, 15% said that they didnt visit any dealerships at all, making their purchases either online or direct with the seller.

26% of women only visited one car dealership before they bought their last car

62% of women visited just two dealerships or fewer before buying their car


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As we have previously uncovered, the dealership experience provides female car buyers with the most important source of information they can get, the test drive. Almost a quarter of women surveyed said the dealership was their single most important information source during their car buying process.

Women value being able to see and feel for themselves whether the car they want to buy matches up to the expectations theyve built during their research. They want to feel what its like to drive, and inspect the boot space and cup holders for themselves.

The role of the dealershipSo if the dealership visit happens when many purchase decisions have already been made, or if customers dont use dealerships to shop around, what role do they now play? In this digital age where consumers can easily access a wealth of data, opinions and recommendations from people they trust more than car salespeople, how important is the dealership?

23% of women named the car dealership as their number one source of information for buying a car


Of those women who said that they would not skip the dealership experience, 94% gave this reason. Only 5% said they would keep going to the dealership because they liked the personal service they receive, and just 1% said they would still go because they like the information they receive there.

Dealership for showroomingThe ease and financial benefits of buying goods online has led to a rise in showrooming browsing and testing products in-store then going online to buy cheaper.

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Would you skip the dealership?

The car I wanted on paper looked like it would have been better. But I test drove it and it was godawful. Didnt have any poke to it, no torque, no acceleration. So I actually got the one that looked worse on paper but was better to drive. Also if you dont go and look at a car you dont know how many scratches there are, dings, the size of the boot because Ive got to have a big enough boot for a wheelchair for my friend.

Emma , 22.

Well it turns out that whilst 19% of women would skip the dealership completely (including the test drive), the majority said that they still needed to physically see or test drive before they made their decision.

Importance of the test driveDespite the importance of the dealership for physically viewing and driving, the overall perception of the dealership experience is poor. As we will explain later, for many women the dealership experience is a negative part of what should be a happy and exciting process.

So what if the broken part was taken away entirely? What would women who are completely disenfranchised by the dealership experience think about a process where they wouldnt have to speak to dodgy salesmen, or be blanked in favour of their husbands? What about a sales process that could be entirely carried out online?


I would test drive at a dealership and then buy online.


When we asked women whether they would skip the dealership experience entirely, 76% said no, because they needed to experience the car they were buying. When we explored this subject further with our Lab members, it became apparent that many women use the showroom to test out cars that they would then be happy to buy online. Some already do this, especially with second hand cars.

I visit the car showroom/carpark thingy to actually see it, sit in it, look in the boot, see if the seats fold flat. Arrange a test drive of a few models. Then go elsewhere to purchase.

Emma, 40.

The benefit of showrooming for consumers buying any type of product is chiefly to get the best deal available. But for many women in our study the idea of buying online appeals because it could allow them to bypass face-to-face interactions with the salespeople in the dealership.

There exists a battle between the need to sit in and drive the car, and the dislike of being confronted by salespeople.

A new kind of showroom experienceMany women talked about an alternative dealership where they could still see and test drive the cars they wanted to buy, but where they could do this without fear of being sold to by pushy salespeople.

I would like to avoid the actual people at the dealership though. They tend to be focused on the sale, and not the customer, from my experience.


Whilst three quarters of women are not willing to give up the test drive, they could happily say goodbye to the car salespeople.

If I could test drive without the dealership experience that would be fantastic. Hate car salesmen and their lack of knowledge and not so charming.


[I would go for the test drive] but would be happy for the salesperson to piss off.



A service that allowed potential buyers to book test drives online and get the car delivered to them to test in their own time was something that really appealed.

Dealership for negotiationsHowever, despite the animosity of many women towards the car salesperson and the overall bad reputation that seems to afflict them, there was an important secondary function of the dealership that was highlighted by some female dealership supporters. Cost-conscious women still want the face-to-face interaction so that they can negotiate on price and package.

These women like to haggle and feel that that they are getting the best deal possible; they do not like to pay ticket price, especially for such a large purchase. They feel that if the whole purchase process was conducted online, they would not be able to get the best price (despite the perceived benefits of looking online for a better deal) because they would miss out on their opportunity to negotiate. The women that like to haggle are confident in their ability to knock money of the price of the car, and negotiate extras, something they dont believe they would be able to do were it not for the face-to-face sales experience.

I might test drive with a dealer then try and haggle with them to get a better price by getting online quotes and ask them to come close!


These hagglers are a small but important minority, especially considering how important price is, however an equal number of women would rather not negotiate and are in fact deterred by what they call the hard sell.

Dealership to build confidenceThe final role of the dealership or more importantly the car salespeople is the ability to have a face-to-face discussion about the details of the car. The women that value this interaction said they felt more confident speaking to somebody in person, where they could ask questions as part of a conversation, and get the answers they needed instantly.

Want questions answered straight away and would feel more trusting or a person face to face.


This doesnt always mean that they intrinsically trust the salespeople they are asking questions to often women point out it is so they can get a better gauge of whether they are being lied to!

Some women made a point about any potential post-sale issues being easier to deal with if they are complaining to a familiar face. They felt more confident in their ability to get any issues resolved if they could go back to the person who had sold them the car in the first place.


Its a lot easier to go back and raise an issue with a face youve seen before.


Are women ready for a full end-to-end online experience?Despite the important role of the dealership in the buying process, especially around the points highlighted above, our research demonstrates that 19% of women would consider skipping the test drive if it meant they could conduct the whole transaction online.

The sad fact is that these women have had such a bad dealership experience that they would happily switch to an alternative rather than go through the experience again.

19% women would skip the dealership entirely (including test drive) and buy online

Some of the women we spoke to are already doing this. Lets look at an example from BMW of how this end-to-end process can work online.

CASE STUDY: BMW Retail Online At the end of November 2015, BMW was the first retailer to make 24/7 online car buying a reality. BMW customers are now able to choose, spec and buy their car entirely online in under 10 minutes via BMW Retail Online.

The new process enables consumers to arrange a test drive if necessary, agree financing options and payment method, and get a trade-in value for their own car before finalising the delivery date. Every step can be supported by a BMW Genius or sales executive at the retailer via live chat or email.

There are a number of key features to BMW Retail Online. The online journey starts with the optional tool Find your BMW, leading to the vehicle configurator on bmw.co.uk.

With a click on the Buy your BMW button the customer selects a retailer, is shown cars with a faster delivery date and selects their preferred finance method. The customer can then finalise all steps of the purchase with their chosen retailer in the Retailer Online showroom.


We are the first car manufacturer to offer a digital sales solution for the entire product range and the full end-to-end buying or leasing process online. Now, the customer can do it all from the comfort of their home. The integration of the BMW Genius via live chat and retailer messaging functions where the customer is able to get personalised support in real time, makes this system unique and a new benchmark for the automotive industry.

bit.ly/BMWRetailOnline

We will watch with interest as more retailers introduce this end-to-end solution and expect it to be standard by the end of 2016.

What do women really feel about the dealership experience?Female participants were divided about the dealership experience. When asked to provide one word to summarise their last experience in a dealership, we received over 166 different descriptors. Whilst the overall split between positive and negative was fairly even, the truly negative experiences had more of an impact and elicited a higher level of emotion than the excellent experiences. 16% of women reported an awful experience compared to 6% who said their last dealership experience was excellent.

The reality is that the dealership picture is a nuanced one. There are elements of the experience that women find good. However, the negative experiences are so bad that they tarnish the entire female perception and experience of the industry.

Ian Robertson, Member of the Board for Sales and Marketing, said:

Women are 3 times as likely to say they had an awful experience in a dealership than an excellent one


Thankfully the largest portion of women (35%) said their experience was good, using words like pleasant, easy, helpful, professional and efficient to describe their visit.

The 18% of women whose description we classified as OK portrayed mainly feelings of disinterest, with descriptors including fine, satisfactory, unremarkable, uninspiring and mediocre.

Many of the women who reported a bad visit (25%) complained about their dislike of the sales tactics, using words like pushy, arrogant, smarmy and pressured, whilst others seemed disappointed by their visit, describing it as boring, tedious, confusing, uncomfortable or unpleasant.

The 16% of women who described awful experiences did not hold back their words, as we saw 43 different ways of saying awful (compared to the 8 different descriptors we saw for excellent). Dreadful, horrific, tortuous, hideous, diabolical, demeaning, patronising, ghastly and sickening were all words used.

Women are more passionate about very bad experiences at dealerships than they are about very good ones, and it is the extreme experience either end of the spectrum that leave lasting impressions.

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Describe your last dealership experience

I hate car salesmen, those in main dealerships are misogynistic arses.

Mumsnet (anonymous)

So what exactly happens in dealerships to spark such strong negative reactions from women?


What do women hate about dealerships?Buying a car is often the second biggest investment people make in their lives after buying a house. The process should be exciting and memorable for the right reasons.

I hate them. I absolutely hate them. I think theyre sexist, they make women feel uncomfortable, I hate them. I think theyre, ugh, theyre horrible. I think you feel judged as soon as you walk in. In fact, Id avoid them at all costs if you want to know the truth.

Alison, 50.

We know from our Experience Lab that women do value the experience of the test drive, largely for validating their meticulous research process. However, the critical point and problem for OEMs and dealer networks is that the bad experiences are having a disproportionately negative impact on word of mouth and are therefore having a damaging impact on the overall female perception of automotive.

So what can the dealer network do to rectify the impact of negative experiences? Here we outline 6 commandments based upon the key negative themes seen in the Experience Lab.

6 dealership commandments1. Thou shalt not make wild assumptions

2. Thou shalt not make me feel like a small child

3. Thou shalt not direct all conversation to my husband

4. Thou shalt not look at my children with fear in thine eyes

5. Thou shalt not direct me straight to the family cars

6. Thou shalt listen to my needs

1. Thou shalt not make wild assumptionsOne of the most common complaints from women about their dealership experience is that assumptions are made of them before they have even opened their mouths. The fact that they are female does not automatically mean that they know nothing about cars, have no interest in high performance, only like the cute little pink ones or need to be shown a nice safe family car. However, despite the many women with completely different needs and wants walking into the showroom every week, many salespeople appear to struggle with this fact.

He went I could show you the Civic but it looks a bit too racy for you - how on earth do you know how racy I like to be?! I could be a female drag racer and you dont know that about me.

Anna, 28.


2. Thou shalt not make me feel like a small childWe asked our Experience Lab participants to draw/source a picture of how they felt the last time they were in a car dealership. The amount of pictures we received depicting our grown adult females as small children was quite staggering. We have heard many tales of women being spoken to in demeaning and patronising manners by car salesmen.

Seat thank you for having dealers who dont treat me like a second class citizen for being a woman. For not talking over me, for answering my questions in a non patronising nature and for doing a deal that you honoured to the letter. Of course this should be standard for car purchase but thanks for showing others how to do it.

Teresa, 42.

Hi, Im a child and Id like to buy a car by Hannah, 22.


Alexandra drew a picture of her recent visit to an Audi dealership where she felt completely invisible. Our Lab members believed that the salespeople assume the husband or partner is the only one interested in the car and that its always their final decision and their money thats being spent. This is rarely the case.

A recent trip to Audi made me feel invisible, as the dealership sales rep was only interested in talking to and smooching my boyfriend up.

Alexandra, 30.

Am I invisible here? by Alexandra, 30.

4. Thou shalt not look at my children with fear in thine eyesMums (and dads) carefully consider their childrens needs when it comes to buying a car. Do they have enough legroom in the back? Can we get the car seats in and out easily? Do we have enough boot space for their stuff? Can the little ones get in and out by themselves? Mums talk about needing to do the child test alongside their own

3. Thou shalt not direct all conversation to my husbandDespite our Mumsnet survey revealing that 82% of women involved in buying a family car with their husband/partner are equally or mainly responsible for the final decision, women are often ignored in favour of their male counterpart. Women speak of the salesperson walking straight up to their husband and continuing the conversation without even acknowledging their presence.


test drives. So it should come as no surprise that children accompany their parents on visits to the car showroom. But salespeople, especially in higher-end showrooms, are often unprepared and look terrified or disgusted by their smaller customers.

We walked into the showroom and I was greeted like Id walked something hideous in on my shoe, the problem was actually what was attached to my hand our little boy. Looking at our son, immediately the salesman made a beeline for my other half, assuming that we were there for him.

Jessica, 40.

5. Thou shalt not direct me straight to the family carsA common assumption is that women who are interested in anything bigger than a small city car must have children and will want to see a family car. Even if they do have children, women dont automatically want a family car! Many times salespeople have taken women straight to the family cars without asking anything about what they are looking for. They might want a roadster or a van, but too often salespeople fail to ask such a straightforward question without making assumptions.

I mentioned that I liked the look of the new HRV model - a compact 4X4. His first response Oh, this is a great - you could definitely fit a weeks shop in the boot of that. I didnt realise you had kids to consider, how many do you have? AT WHAT POINT DID I SAY I HAD KIDS?!!?

Anna, 28.

6. Thou shalt listen to my needsAnother risky product of stereotyping women is failing to ask and listen to what the customer actually wants. As we know from the way women approach the research process, they often have a very clear idea of what theyre looking for by the time they get to the dealership. But many feel they are directed towards models that dont meet their need. Often because the salesperson has failed to really listen to what they want, or ask the question in the first place.

Annoying - hard sell from irritating salesperson who kept telling me what I wanted rather than asking me!



You got to work at talking to me like a normal human being and finding out what I NEEDED and WANTED in a car! Never had that before...usually every other sales person...works on the numbers first!

Christine, 30.

List of cars: Mini, VW Beetle, Fiat 500 by Rachael, 25.


The need for male accompanimentR