A WIT research study on the customer journey

Do you shop for or buy tires, parts, and auto services the same way you did five years ago? Some consumers do, however, most do not. Today, the entire customer journey has changed; partly due to the mobile phones sitting in our pockets! We live in a digital era where 90% of consumers report they want multiple options to communicate with dealers, and service centers, online and a rapid response from the dealer.¹ However, delivering this new customer experience has been a challenge for retailers across the industry.

TireTutor and WIT students partnered on a research study to identify the key pain points in the "new customer's" online purchasing journey and better understand actionable opportunities for dealers to implement. We surveyed over 50 respondents, both online and via phone calls, and determined three key features within the purchasing process that impact the consumer shopping experience and prospective lead generation - Price, Comparison Shopping, & Direct Recommendations.

Price

Research suggests that price is one of the most influential factors to the purchase decision. In phone calls, when consumers were asked to identify what factors were the most important when buying tires, 70% identified price as the main differentiator. This sensitivity to price was observed across all age groups, even the younger Generation Z. What does this mean?

Consumers today will search for the best deals in the market and buy accordingly. With the ease of product search access due to mobile phones, this process is rather standardized. However, this influence of price does not only mean that consumers will buy the most affordable product. Based on the research, consumers today use price as a distinguishing factor to compare tires, parts, and services based on quality, performance, convenience, and other key attributes which should be leveraged for any online tire buying platform.

Comparison Shopping

This leads into the second key finding which was that the new customer journey desires a stage in which buyers can become "comparison shoppers". According to a prior research study done on tire dealers' customers, 45% of online users looking at 7-10 websites to identify the best brands and services before making a purchase.¹ In other words, aligning with our previous findings on price, consumers value comparing product features online, and reviews, as a key stage in the customer journey.

The same need was identified in our survey. Respondents stated that, when going through the tire buying process on a dealer website, they want side bar, dual panels, or drop-down features that allow them to compare pricing and other product features. Thus, in this digital age, not only is it critical for your business to have premium Google positioning and pricing advantage, but also to have an e-commerce functionality that enables customers to leverage the comparison-shopping stage in their tire buying journey, therefore avoiding customer frustrations or drop-offs.

Direct Recommendations

Finally, in closing of this research, it was identified that consumers, now more than ever, want fewer options and more direct recommendations. In other words, though the tire shopping customer journey places high value on the product search process to find the best deals across sources, towards the end of the experience, consumers want a direct recommendation for what to purchase, just as would occur in-store.

The survey identified that a major pain point in the customer journey occurred when consumers completed their search and were faced with too many options. After comparison shopping, many consumers feel overwhelmed and unsure of which tire, part, or service is right for them. This uncertainty ultimately leads to drop-offs in the purchasing process. Buyers want to be able to compare exact SKUs and services, rather than be overloaded which too many options to compare.

Importance: Trust & Transparency

Ultimately, responding to these key needs in the tire shopping journey is critical because it develops, and maintains, trust and transparency in the process. The average consumer is uncertain of what products or services they need for their vehicle. Plus, this purchase is usually a stress-inducing experience as having to buy for one's car is often associated with a negative circumstance. Thus, creating trust is essential to the success of retailers in the industry. The businesses that can accomplish this, as well as accommodate for these three features in the customer journey, will gain competitive edge in the market by appealing to the new customer and leveraging e-commerce innovations that are taking over the industry!

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¹ Tire Review, 2020

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