Survey Shows Car Buyers Willing To Visit Showrooms If Safety Measures Are In Place

According to JudgeService, an online customer review provider, the majority of customers are happy to visit car showrooms in person if COVID-19 safety measures have been put in place.

People who bought a car in May 2019 or 2018 completed this survey. There were 700 responses.

20% of respondents identified as being at high-risk from coronavirus, therefore were more reticent about visiting dealerships. 22% of them said they would be happy to do so in person if social distancing rules were in place. This number rose to nearly 35% among those who weren’t at risk.

19.08% said they would have changed their car within the next 12 months under normal circumstances. However, when asked if they would change their vehicle in the current situation, the figure dropped to 16.82%.

28% of those in the not at risk category and 21% of those at high risk, said they wanted to have their car serviced as soon as they can.

In the not at risk group, 60% said they’d be happy to book a service online or via phone to collect or have delivery. 20% of those wanted to wait to book a service until the pandemic is over, but rose to 30% among people who are high risk.

Neil Addley, Managing Director at JudgeService, said: “As dealerships begin to re-open, the focus has to be on reassuring customers that safety is a priority. It’s also imperative that companies react to the rise in demand for online sales and service bookings.

We expected there to be some changes in attitude this year because of the current situation, but some of the figures we found have surprised us.

It will be interesting to see how those intentions translate to sales over the coming months.”