Owners of Custom-Ordered Vehicles are More Loyal
24 January 2000
Owners of Custom-Ordered Vehicles are More Loyal; Polk Study Also Shows More New Luxury Vehicle and Pick-Up Buyers Custom Ordering
ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 24 -- Owners of vehicles that were
custom-ordered from the manufacturer are more loyal to the same make than off-
the-lot buyers when returning to market for new vehicles, a study released
today by The Polk Company revealed.
According to Polk data, nearly 53 percent of owners who custom-ordered
their previous vehicle and were active in the market during the first half of
the 1999 model year repurchased the same make. Of those who purchased their
previous vehicle off the dealership lot, only 43 percent bought the same make
again.
MAKE LOYALTY RATES*
Purchasing through Purchasing Vehicles
Custom Orders Off the Lot
Make Loyalists 52.7% 42.9%
Make Defectors 47.3% 57.1%
* Based on Polk's Manufacturer Loyalty Excelerator(TM), first six months,
1999 model year
"This is good news for those manufacturers who are concentrating on
decreasing the length of time required for consumers to receive custom-ordered
vehicles," said Bill Barrett, Polk's Managing Director of dealer programs.
"This shorter length of order time will encourage more consumers to place
custom orders. By receiving the exact vehicle they desired, a consumer is
more likely to be loyal to a make or model the next time they buy a new car."
Polk's data show that the longer a customer is willing to wait for their
custom-ordered vehicle, the more likely they are to be loyal customers.
"Interestingly, customers waiting more than one month for a custom order had
the highest loyalty rate of all groups at 56.9 percent," said Karen
Piurkowski, Director of Loyalty at Polk.
LOYALTY RATES BY WAIT TIME FOR CUSTOM ORDER
Wait Time Make Loyalty Rate
0 - 14 Days 50.2%
15 - 30 Days 49.6%
More than 1 Month 56.9%
Based on Polk's Manufacturer Loyalty Excelerator(TM), first six months,
1999 model year
According to Polk's Manufacturer Loyalty Excelerator(TM) survey data from
the first half of the 1999 model year, the top five makes in terms of loyalty
for customers placing custom orders were Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda and
Mercury. Ford's loyalty rate of 74.2 percent tops the list:
TOP FIVE MAKES BY CUSTOM-ORDER LOYALTY
Make Loyalty Rate Of Customers
Placing Custom Orders
1. Ford 74.2%
2. Chevrolet 57.8%
3. Toyota 54.7%
4. Honda 52.3%
5. Mercury 51.8%
Based on Polk's Manufacturer Loyalty Excelerator(TM), first six months,
1999 model year
"We also found that a higher proportion of both luxury car and pick-up
truck new-vehicle buyers custom-ordered their vehicles when compared to other
vehicle segments (32.7 percent and 30.4 percent, respectively)," said
Piurkowski. "In contrast, buyers of large cars were least likely to place
custom orders, with only 17.5 percent placing a custom order during the first
half of the 1999 model year."
Demographically, larger proportions of male consumers and/or those with
household incomes of more than $125,000 placed custom orders than did their
off-the-lot counterparts during the first half of 1999:
HOUSEHOLD INCOME & GENDER COMPARISONS
Annual Household Income Consumers Purchasing Consumers Placing
Off-the-Lot Custom Orders
$75,000 or less 59.1% 49.5%
$75,000 - $125,000 29.2 31.3
Over $125,000 11.6 19.3
Gender
Male 74.1% 77.8%
Female 25.9% 22.2%
Based on Polk's Manufacturer Loyalty Excelerator(TM), first six months,
1999 model year
According to consumers who custom-ordered their previous vehicle, the
ideal length of time to wait between order and delivery of a custom-ordered
vehicle is two weeks. "If automotive manufacturers want to capture a larger
share of owners who are custom-ordering new vehicles in hopes of increasing
loyalty, this ideal wait time needs to either be met or exceeded," Piurkowski
said.
Polk's Manufacturer Loyalty Excelerator(TM), the basis for these findings,
provides consumer behavior insight and was created to provide household
loyalty information to manufacturers at various levels. Polk's Manufacturer
Loyalty Excelerator(TM) determines loyalty percentages for the entire
automotive industry, provides cross-industry comparisons of loyalty behavior
and examines loyalty at various levels, e.g., from the industry level down to
the vehicle-line level. The study measures loyalty throughout an entire model
year to identify trends as they occur in the industry.
Polk is a global company delivering multi-dimensional intelligence to the
auto industry to enhance the relationships consumers have with brands.
Through lifetime understanding of individuals, Polk helps clients maintain
current customers, win new ones and build their brand loyalty. Based in
Southfield, Mich., Polk is a privately held firm currently operating in
Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Holland, Spain, the United Kingdom,
and the United States.