Every two years, International Carwash Association conducts a consumer study to determine consumer attitudes and behaviors around the professional car wash industry.
Historically, this study has been conducted in the United States, but new this year, is the addition of a European focused study.
We’ll be exploring some of the key findings from both studies in CAR WASH Magazine in the future, to help you make informed decisions for your business. In this issue, we’re taking just a brief look at the makeup of the studies, and a few interesting comparison points between European and U.S. consumer behaviors as it relates to using a professional car wash.
These two studies combine to paint an interesting picture of the car wash industry, and there are a number of fascinating findings as you compare the two.
A LITTLE QUICK METHODOLOGY
The key areas of learning for the U.S. study centered on:
-- Incidence – How has the mix of home vs. professional car washing changed?
-- Value – What do consumers most value in car wash services?
-- Barriers – Why do consumers not wash (or wash more often) at a professional car wash?
-- Differentiation – What factors influence consumer preference for one professional car wash over another?
The European study maintained the same key areas of learning, but added one to the mix: Issues and Opportunities – How might differences between countries help to unearth new opportunities for growth?
WHO WERE THE RESPONDENTS?
In the U.S.:
-- 1,606 respondents
-- Must own or lease a vehicle
-- 18 years or older
-- Data weighted to the U.S. Census
In Europe:
-- 1,806 respondents from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden.
-- Had to own, lease, or have a company-provided vehicle.
SO WHAT DID WE LEARN?
The short answer here is ... a lot. So let’s just share a few quick snippets.
Americans continue to enjoy a clean car. Nearly every American (96 percent) reported washing their vehicle at least once in the past year. That was up from 95 percent in 2014.
The six countries in the European study (France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden) didn’t lag far behind. Respondents in each country showed more than 90 percent washed their vehicle at least once in the past year.
Now, if you then go a step further to see if those washing were using a professional car wash, that’s where the data starts to unearth some interesting information.
In the U.S., 80 percent report using a professional car wash in the past year. In Europe, that number jumps to 85 percent.
However, in the U.S. you find more of a mix in terms of consumers washing at home as well as washing at a professional car wash. Only 44 percent report exclusively using a professional car wash. In Europe, that number jumps 74 percent.
This is driven by the European consumer belief that the benefits of using a professional car wash are greater than washing at home. When compared to the U.S., professional car wash users are more likely to agree that washing a vehicle at a professional wash provides better benefits over washing at home.
But, while you might be encouraged by the raw number of Europeans choosing to use only a professional car wash, the frequency numbers paint a slightly different picture. In Europe, just 16 percent report washing a few times a month, compared with 27 percent in the U.S.
That equates to an average number of professional washes by a consumer in a given year to 10.5 in the European countries surveyed, vs. 13.6 in the U.S.
To gain more insights, get your full copy of the reports at carwash.org/store.
