Since 1996, International Car Wash Association has conducted national consumer research to unearth business-building consumer and industry insights. In the latest such study, it is evident that there has been a sea-change in usage and consumer sentiment regarding car washes. These major consumer and industry shifts bring vast opportunity.
Never has there been a more exciting time to be in the car wash business than right now.
Frequency of car wash use among consumers has increased significantly in the last two years, and key economic and consumer shifts have fueled this growth. With unemployment rates declining, consumer confidence improving and the overall health of the U.S. economy rebounding, consumers have responded with their wallets. More cars have been purchased in the last year than since the onset of the Great Recession.
This sudden influx of new cars on the road has paved the way for a newfound appreciation and love among Americans for taking care of their vehicles. Almost two-thirds of consumers (64 percent) strongly agree that washing their vehicle is important and necessary to the maintenance and upkeep of a vehicle. Even more encouraging, consumers believe significantly more in the benefits of washing at a professional car wash versus the benefits of washing their vehicle at home. Consumers not only see car washing as an integral part of vehicle maintenance, but they also believe the best avenue to do that is through the car wash.
These crucial shifts in consumer perception and use open the door for opportunities that professional car wash owners will need to harness in order to propel their businesses forward.
The first of these opportunities is taking greater advantage of digital marketing. Only 11 percent of consumers report receiving an online communication or offer from a car wash in the past year. While this has significantly increased from just two years ago (7 percent), this space has remained largely untapped and, in turn, has become a profoundly missed opportunity. Even with consumers in the right mindset to invest in having their vehicle professionally washed, car washes must reach consumers where they are in order to capture their attention and dollars.
While investing greater resources toward digital marketing is just one piece of the puzzle; car washes will also need to reinvent themselves when it comes to the retail experience. Coming out ahead of banks, but behind grocery stores, car washes fall in the middle of the pack when it comes to a retail experience consumers delight in. This is a problematic gap. Consumers may strongly agree with the benefits of having their car professionally washed, but lacking is an excitement for the complete car wash experience. The emotional return for a consumer comes once they pull away from the car wash with a sparkling clean car. Those businesses that can transform the current car wash experience into something magical for their customers will come out on top.
It is indeed a pivotal moment for the industry. Never before has there been greater consumer advocacy and love for what car washes do, but businesses will have to push outside of their comfort zone in order to change their relationship and profitability with consumers from a transactional into a transformational one.
