The biggest showroom pain points faced by car buyers are arranging finance, dealing with sales staff and part exchanging their existing car.
Over a quarter (28%) of the 2,000 car buyers polled for the latest MOTORS Consumer Insight Panel said the most dreaded aspect of their showroom experience was arranging finance, closely followed by interacting with salespeople (26%) and trading-in their car (24%).
Other friction points included negotiating the final cost (22%), reviewing and signing paperwork and contacting the dealer to check stock availability (14%).
Furthermore, women are even more likely to dislike each aspect of the buying process than men.
In contrast, consumers said the best part of the buying experience is the handover (71%), followed by test drives (62%) and viewing and comparing cars in dealerships (54%).
“Our research reveals how uncomfortable many car buyers can be with the purchasing experience and how women are more anxious about the process than men,” said Lucy Tugby, Marketing Director of MOTORS.
“Dealers can take the pain out of the process by ensuring their online experience includes finance calculators and part exchange valuation tools. These, together with a closer attention to buyers’ needs and anxieties, will help drive increases in sales conversion.
“Dealers should also think carefully about how female customers feel about the dealership environment and deliver a buying experience that is tailored to addressing their concerns from the moment they step into the showroom.
“It’s also worth noting that customers do enjoy the more positive aspects of the buying experience, so we urge dealers to make test drives and handovers special occasions,” said Tugby.
