Consumer Loyalty and Attachment to Their Automobiles (Marketing Analysis Sample)

Introduction and Project Overview In a national survey of Qualtrics panel consumers, 1,003 people were asked questions regarding their degree of loyalty, relationships, and attachments to vehicles they owned in the past, or currently own now. The income and age of the consumers were used as screening questions, and only consumers over the age of 35 years or older, with household incomes of over $80,000 a year, participated.

The following report will summarize demographic information about the survey participants, as well as explore several factors such as consumer satisfaction, commitment, loyalty, perceived brand effort, and even obsession with vehicles they currently own, or owned in the past. This report will also analyze consumer commitment, satisfaction and loyalty based on not only the brand of the car, but the region of where the car is manufactured as well.

Demographical Data The following is the overall demographical data of the surveyed panelists. Each chart is broken down into cumulative percentages, using frequency of responses to each question in the data.

Demographical Data: Age

Age of Survey Panelists

38%

The first point of discussion about

10%

demographics is age. As previously

21%

31%

35 to 44

mentioned, panelists younger than 35-years-old were excluded

45 to 54 55 to 64

65 years and over

from the survey.

Of the panelists who took the survey, only 10% of them were in the 35-44 age percentile. The majority of

panelists were older, 38% of them

being 65-years or older and 31% of them being between age 55 and 64.

Demographical Data: Gender

Gender of Survey Panelists

The vast majority of survey respondents were female, with 67% female and 33% male. What is

33%

intriguing about this piece of

demographical data is that since the sample size was very large (1,003 participants), we can make the

assumption that women may be

more inclined to answer questions about their satisfaction, loyalty or

67%

Male

Female

Demographical Data: Ethnicity

Ethnicity of Survey Panelists 2%

39%

3%

5%

6%

39%

6%

Another surprising element to the

African American

demographical data was the amount

Asian

of respondents that were biracial or

Hispanic/Latino

did not to disclose their ethnicity.

Native American

Thirty-nine percent of respondents

White/Caucasian

survey. However, an equal number

Pacific Islander

selected the other option in the

Other/Not Specified

of people identified themselves as

Caucasian. The remaining 22% of respondents were minority groups, such as African American, Asian, Hispanic, Native American or Pacific Islander.

Demographical Data: Marital Status

The following chart displays the

Marital Status of Panelists

current marital status of each

participant. Only 1% of people who

5%

20%

responded to the survey were single, and never married. Five percent

were married without children, and the majority of other people were married with children (18%),

divorced (18%), separated (19%) or widowed (19%). Twenty percent of respondents stated that they lived

with a partner, but it is not known with or without children.

Single, never married

1%

19% 19%

18% 18%

Married without children Married with children Divorced

Separated Widowed

Living with partner

0%

2%

Panelists' Level of Education 18%

2%

6%

7% 13%

18% 17%

17%

Less than High School/Some High School High School/GED Associate Degree Some College

Demographical Data: Level of Education

For level of education, most

respondents obtained a bachelor’s

2-year College Degree

degree or higher. Only 17% of

4-year College Degree

respondents received less than a four-

Doctoral Degree

chose to select ‘‘other’’ as their level of

Masters Degree

year college degree. Eighteen percent

Professional Degree (J.D., M.D.) Other

education. Professional degrees, such as law or medical degrees, were the

most frequent highest attained level of education, followed by doctoral

and master’s degrees (both at 17%), and a 4-year college degree (13%).

Demographical Data: Household Income

Combined Household Income of Survey Panelists

Participants were excluded from the survey if their combined household income did not equal $80,000 per year or higher. After screening the

28%

participants, 23% of all participants stated that their highest obtained income was $160,000 or more a year. Twenty-three percent of participants make between

$140,000-$159,999 a year, 21% make $120,000-$139,999 a year, 17% make between $100,000-

$119,999 a year, and 11% fell into the lowest income bracket of $99,999.

23%

11%

17%

21%

$80,000 - $99,999

$100,000 - $119,999 $120,000 - $139,999 $140,000 - $159,999 $160,000 or above

In summary, the average respondent to this national survey was most likely to be 65-years or older and female. They were likely to be married or formally married with children, or living with a partner (whether or not with children is unknown). They were most likely to have a bachelors degree or above, and make over $120,000 in combined household income. Since this survey data informs us on what the average respondent of this survey looked like, we can now analyze what types of cars these people are more likely drive. The following graph shows the level of education corresponding to the car brands that these respondents currently owned. This data was a cross-tabulation of the frequencies of responses between the levels of stated education of the respondent and what types of cars those people drove.

Level of Education and Car Brands Owned 140 120 100

80 60 40 20

0

Other

Professional Degree Doctoral Degree Masters Degree

4-year College Degree 2-year College Degree Some College

Associate Degree

High School/GED

Less than High School/Some High School

In this chart, we can see that many people who graduated with a bachelor’s degree were more likely to drive a Ford, Toyota, Honda or Chevrolet, respectively. Despite being in a higher income bracket, people with masters degrees were most likely to drive the same brands of cars: Toyota, Ford, Honda or Chevrolet, respectively. People with doctoral or professional degrees were more likely to drive luxury brands such as Mercedes-Benz or Lincoln, but they also drove value brands such as Toyota, Ford or Chevrolet as well. But why would people who we would assume be making substantially more income drive the same value brands?

Levels of Education and Combined Household Income Other

Professional Degree

Doctoral Degree

Masters Degree

$160k and above

4-year College Degree

$140k - $159,999

2-year College Degree

$120k - $139,999

Some College

$100k - $119,999

Associate Degree

$80k - $99,999

High School/GED

Less than High School/Some High School

0

50

100

150

The above chart is a cross-tabulation of the frequencies of responses between levels of education and combined household income. People with 4-year degrees are more likely to make between $80,000 and $99,999 per year in combined household incomes. People with a master’s degree are more likely to fall in the $80,000 to $99,999 income bracket, or higher. Incomes of people with doctoral and professional degrees are more evenly dispersed between all income brackets. People with professional degrees are slightly more likely to have incomes in the $160k or higher bracket. So since we know that many of these people can afford to buy higher-end luxury cars, what brand of cars are they actually buying?

Income and Owned Car Brands 140 120 100

80

$160k and above

$140k - $159,999

60

$120k - $139,999

40 20

0

$100k - $119,999

Overall behaviors of the samples (might or might not do this one)

$80k - $99,999

Overall attitudes of the samples The above cross-tabulated chart answers our proposed question: despite whatever income bracket the respondents fell into, they were more likely to own a Toyota, Ford, Honda or Chevrolet! The next question that arises is ‘‘what makes these panelists, who can obviously afford higher-end luxury cars, purchase value brands instead?’’ What kind of loyalty do these people have to these brands?

Income Level and Region of Owned Car Brand 180 160 140 120 100

United States

80

Europe Asia

60 40 20

0

$80k $99,999

$100k $119,999

$120k $139,999

$140k $159,999

$160k and above

To break down this question even further, let’s look at where these cars are being manufactured. The above chart describes the frequencies that cars are bought from specific regions by people with certain income levels. People who fall into an income bracket between $80,000 and $99,999 are more likely to buy cars from the United States and Asia, respectively. People with an income of in between $100,000 and $119,999 are more likely to purchase cars from Asia and then the United States. The only time more cars are purchased from Europe than the United States and Asia is from people who make $160,000 or above. Now let’s take a further look to see who are buying these cars, and from what region they are making their purchases.

Age and Region of Owned Car 140

This chart shows the relationship

120

between age and the region in which

100

80

United States

40

Asia

60 20

0

Age and Region of Owned Car

Europe

35 to 44 years

45 to 54 years

55 to 64 years

65 years or older

they purchased their cars. In the 35

to 44 age bracket, people were more

likely to purchase their car from Asia

over the other two regions. People in the 45 to 54 age bracket were more

likely to purchase their car from Asia as well, and much less likely to own a European car. People in the 55 to 64 age group were more likely to

own American made cars, as well as anyone over 65 years old.

Gender and Region of Owned Car

Gender and Region of Owned Car

In the gender category, males

200

were more likely to purchase

150

cars in the United States than females. Males were slightly

Male

100

more likely to purchase cars

Female

50

manufactured from Europe

0

than females, and females

were more likely to purchase cars from Asia than males

United States

Europe

Asia

were.

Ethnicity and Region of Owned Car Other/Not Specified

Region of Owned Car As far as ethnicity goes, more

White/Caucasian

white/Caucasian people responded to

Pacific Islander

Asia

Native American

Europe

United States

Hispanic/Latino

Asian

African American

Ethnicity and

the survey. Of these people,

Caucasians were more likely to

purchase cars from the United States and then Asia. In other ethnicity categories, Hispanics were more

0

100

200

300

400

likely to purchase cars from Asia.

Asians were more likely to purchase cars from Asia, and African

Americans were more likely to

purchase cars from Asia as well.

Marital Status and Region of Owned Car

In the marital status category, people who were married with children were more likely to purchase cars

from the United States and Asia, respectively. People who were

married without children were more likely to purchase cars from Asia and then the United States. People who were single were more likely to

Marital Status and Region of Owned Car 250 200 150 100

50

0

purchase cars from Asia, then Europe (but only slightly more likely to do so). Divorced people were likely to buy Asian cars are well, then cars

from the United States. People who were living with their partners are

more likely to buy cars from the US. In summary, people are more likely to buy American or Asian manufactured cars than European cars. Younger people are more likely to buy Asian manufactured cars and older people are more likely to buy American products. The next section will explore why people may have a particular loyalty to a brand of car that they own, or a loyalty to purchasing cars from a particular region in the world.

United States Europe Asia

Structural Analysis of Attitudinal Variables In order to get a full understanding of why these consumers may be loyal to their cars, we must look at what is shaping their attitudes toward particular brands of cars, or regions that the cars are manufactured in. The following chart comes from a factor analysis of attitudinal questions asked on the national Qualtrics survey. Any variable above 0.5 was highlighted to show its significance as an underlying factor in consumer’s decision-making.

There are five important factors in the analysis of attitudinal variables: satisfaction to the brand, commitment to the brand, perceived brand effort, obsession with the brand and loyalty to the brand. Questions without highlights did not fall into any of these categories, and are not considered factors in consumers’ decision-making when purchasing a vehicle. The following is a list that displays important factors and the questions corresponding to those factors.

Satisfaction

Commitment

Brand Effort

I have a sense of

I would switch to a

I am satisfied with

I feel loyal to this

belonging to this

competitor if I

the service offered at

brand of automobile.

brand of automobile.

experience a problem

the dealership for

with this brand of

Obsession

Loyalty

this brand.

automobile.

The automobiles

I only buy vehicles

I encourage friends

I am willing to pay

within this brand of

offered by this brand

to consider

a higher price for the

automobile are of

of automobile.

purchasing this

vehicles and services

brand of automobile.

from this brand.

high quality.

I would say that I

I am happy with the

This brand of

am very committed

efforts that this

automobiles has

automobile makes

to this brand of

brand is making

effective

an effort to increase

automobile.

toward keeping me

advertisements.

customer loyalty.

as a customer.

In general I am

I will recommend

I am not interested

brand.

automobile to

from other brands of

someone who seeks

automobiles.

satisfied with this

this brand of

in advertisements

advice.

I look to purchase

This brand of

If similar vehicles

this brand because

automobile gives me

are cheaper at

its products are

a feeling of

another brand of

This brand of

superior.

confidence.

automobile than at this brand, then I will switch to the other brand.

I am emotionally

This brand of

I intend to continue

attached to the

automobile makes

purchasing this

improve its tie to

over the next several

regular customers.

years.

brand of automobile.

various efforts to

brand of automobile

I trust this brand of automobile.

I am satisfied with the general price level of vehicles offered by this brand.

I say positive things about this brand of

automobile to others.

I have faith in this brand of automobile.

Most questions had corresponding factors to them, except for the ‘‘obsession’’ category. The reason for this is that no questions in that category had any significance of over 0.5, and was excluded. Questions that were excluded as factors were: • • • •

This brand of automobile is always my first choice.

I am satisfied with the relationship I have with this brand.

I care about the long-term success of this brand.

I would expend effort on behalf of this brand of automobile to help it succeed.

Now let’s compare these five factors (satisfaction, commitment, brand effort, obsession, and loyalty) to see if they are different by region of manufacturers or by individual brands.

Satisfaction of Owned Car Brand 1 0.5 0

Satisfaction

-0.5 -1 -1.5

The above chart displays a comparison using the satisfaction factor and the panelists’ currently owned car brand. The following chart is not statistically significant, due to its significance being at 0.433. The top three ranked car brands with the highest satisfaction are Land Rover, Jaguar and Volvo, respectively.

Commitment to Owned Car Brands 1

0.5

0

-0.5

Commitment

-1

-1.5

-2

-2.5

The above chart displays a comparison using the commitment factor and the panelists’ currently owned car brand. The following chart is statistically significant, due to its significance being at 0.000. Of these car brands, consumers are most committed to Jaguar, Mercury and Chrysler, respectively. The only car brand that intersects between satisfaction and commitment is Jaguar, meaning that consumers may be satisfied with their chosen car brand, but no necessarily committed to purchasing it again.

Perceived Brand Effort of Owned Car Brands 1.5

1

0.5

0

Brand Effort

-0.5

-1

-1.5

-2

-2.5

The factor brand effort is how the consumer perceives the auto manufacturer’s brand. The above chart displays a comparison using the brand effort factor and the panelists’ currently owned car brand. The following chart is statistically significant, due to its significance being at 0.084. Of these car brands, the brands that consumers best perceive in a positive manner are FIAT, Porsche and Lincoln, respectively.

Obsession with Owned Car Brands 2

1.5

1

0.5

0

Obsession

-0.5

-1

-1.5

-2

The factor obsession is how fanatical the consumer is about their chosen car brand.

The above chart displays a comparison using the obsession factor and the panelists’ currently owned car brand. The following chart is not statistically significant, due to its significance being at 0.659. Of these car brands, consumers the most obsessed with Porsche, Land Rover and Ferrari, respectively.

Loyalty to Owned Car Brands 2

1.5

1

0.5

0

-0.5

-1

-1.5

-2

Loyalty

Perceptual Maps

The final factor is loyalty, which describes how loyal consumers are to their chosen car brands. This chart is statistically significant, due to its significance being at 0.024. Of their chosen car brands, consumers are most loyal to Lamborghini, Suzuki and Audi, respectively. Loyalty, satisfaction and obsession does not have any much overlap with one another when it comes to car brands, so let’s explore if consumers feel the same way about the region that they purchase their cars from.

Satisfaction for Region of Owned Car

Satisfaction and

Region of Owned Car The United States ranks first for the

factor satisfaction, with Asia in close 49%

50%

1%

United States Europe Asia

second. Europe barely registers for

this variable at 1%. This chart was taken from a compare means analysis and is statistically significant at 0.184.

Commitment for Region of Owned Car

Commitment and

Region of Owned Car As far as commitment goes, more

40%

people are committed to European cars, then Asian cars. Only 6% of

6%

United States 54%

people are committed to cars

manufactured in the United States.

Brand Effort of Region of Owned Car 0%

Europe Asia

Brand Effort and

Region of Owned Car With brand effort, 62% believed

that European manufactured cars

United States

38% 62%

Europe Asia

produced the most brand effort, and 38% believed that Asian cars

produced the most brand effort. Cars manufactured in the United States

did not show up as a variable. This chart was taken from a compare means analysis and is not

statistically significant at 0.661.

Obsession and

Region of Owned Car With the obsession variable, 49% of

respondents were obsessed with their European made vehicles, 41% with

their US manufactured vehicles and

only 10% with Asian made vehicles.

This chart was taken from a

Obsession and

Obsession of Region of Owned Car

Region of Owned Car With the obsession variable, 49% of

10%

respondents were obsessed with their

United States

41%

European made vehicles, 41% with

their US manufactured vehicles and

only 10% with Asian made vehicles.

Europe Asia

49%

This chart was taken from a

compare means analysis and is not statistically significant at 0.261.

Loyalty to Region of Owned Car

Loyalty and

Region of Owned Car

\ 5%

With the loyalty factor, 55% of

40% 55%

United States

people were loyal to European made

Asia

made cars. People are generally not

Europe

cars, and 40% were loyal to Asian

loyal to US made vehicles, with only 5% stating they were loyal. This chart was taken from a compare

means analysis and is statistically significant at 0.018.

Attachment vs. Non-Attachment To Owned Vehicle 140 120 100

80 60

Attachment

40

No Attachment

20

0

Above is a chart depicting the actual stated loyalty vs. non-attachment for a consumers’ owned vehicle. For stated loyalty, Toyota ranked first, then Ford and Honda.

Chevrolet also ranked highly for stated loyalty. However, people did not feel attached to Chevrolet, Ford, or Chrysler, but only a small number of people stated that they felt no attachment to their vehicles (only 50). In the next section, we will take a look at some perceptual maps to compare and contract the five underlying factors in this survey.

Perceptual Maps In this section, we will compare and contrast satisfaction, commitment, brand effort, obsession, and loyalty to see if there are any correlations between these factors. All of these charts use a compare means analysis.

Satisfaction vs. Committment for Brand 1.5

0

-0.5 0 -1

-1.5

-2

-2.5

-3

Brand

For satisfaction vs. commitment,

1

0.5

Satisfaction vs. Commitment for

people are highly satisfied with

10

20

30

40

50

Satisfaction

Commitment

Land Rover, Jaguar and Volvo, but are not committed to Bentley,

Ferrari, or Lamborghini. The correlation between satisfaction and commitment is strong, due to its intersection in the center of the

graph. People are satisfied and

committed to cars such as Ford, Chrysler and Nissan.

Satisfaction vs. Brand Effort

Satisfaction vs. Brand Effort for Brand

1.5

For satisfaction vs. brand effort,

0.5

1 0

people thought that FIAT had the

-0.5 0

best-perceived brand effort, and

10

-1

believed that Tesla had the worst.

20

30

40

50

-1.5

Satisfaction

Brand Effort

-2

Satisfaction compared to brand effort

-2.5

was about the same, with most cars having ‘‘middle of the road’’

comparisons between satisfaction and brand effort.

Satisfaction vs. Loyalty for Brand

Commitment vs. Loyalty 2

For satisfaction vs. loyalty, people

1.5

were more inclined to be loyal to

1

0.5

0

-0.5 0 -1

Lamborghini, and committed to

10

20

30

40

purchasing Jaguar. People were not

Commitment

50

Loyalty

-1.5

loyal, however, to Scion vehicles or committed to Bentley. Cars people

-2

were loyal and committed to were

-2.5

Ford, Volkswagen and Buick.

-3

Obsession vs. Loyalty for Brand For obsession vs. loyalty, people were

Obsession vs. Loyalty 2

very loyal to Lamborghini, and very

1.5

also obsessed with Land Rovers,

0.5

were not loyal to Scion, and not

-0.5

obsessed with Porsche. People were

Ferrari, and Mercury. Again, people infatuated with FIAT or Tesla.

1 0

-1

-1.5

-2

0

10

20

30

40

50

Obsession Loyalty

Now let’s take a look at if these factors align with the region of car manufactured with our perceptual maps.

Satisfaction vs. Commitment for Region of Owned Car

Axis Title

0.3 0

-0.1 0 -0.2

Region

Asia

0.2 0.1

Satisfaction vs. Commitment for

For satisfaction vs. commitment for

United States Europe United States 1 2 3 Asia

4

Europe

-0.3 -0.4

region of owned car brand, the

Satisfaction

respondents felt more committed to

Commitment

Asian cars, and much less committed to European cars. People were more

Axis Title

satisfied with cars made in the

United States, and the least satisfied with Asian cars.

Satisfaction vs. Brand Effort for

Satisfaction vs. Brand Effort for Region of Owned Car

Region

0.08

For satisfaction vs. brand effort for most satisfied with cars made from the United States, and the least

satisfied with cars made from Asia.

People believed that Europe had the best brand effort, and Asia had the worst brand effort.

Axis Title

region of car owned, people were the

0.06 0.04 0.02

0

-0.02 0 -0.04 -0.06 -0.08

United States

Europe

United StatesEurope 1 2 3 Axis Title

Asia Asia

4

Satisfaction

Brand Effort

Loyalty vs. Obsession with Region of Owned Car

Axis Title

0.15

0.1

0.05

0

-0.05

-0.1

1

-0.15

United States 2 Europe

-0.2

3

For loyalty vs. obsession with region

Asia

of owned car, people were the most

loyal to Asian cars and the least loyal

Loyalty

4

to European cars. People were the

Obsession

Europe

most obsessed with cars from the

United States, and people were least

Axis Title

obsessed with European manufactured cars.

Commitment vs. Loyalty for

Commitment vs. Loyalty for Region of Owned Car

Region of Owned Car

For commitment vs. loyalty for

0.3

about equally as loyal and committed

0.1

more committed to Asian made cars

than there were loyal and more loyal to European made cars than they

Axis Title

to American made cars. People were

Asia

0.2

region of owned car, people were

were committed.

Owned Car

Asia

United States 0

Loyalty vs. Obsession for Region of

0

-0.1 -0.2 -0.3 -0.4

0

1

United United States States 2

Europe Europe

Axis Title

3

Asia

4

Commitment Loyalty

Summary In conclusion, there are various factors that determine commitment, loyalty and even obsession that car owners have with their vehicles. The national Qualitrics survey used in this report took 1,003 responses from people who made over $80,000 a year, and were over the age of 35. Younger people were more likely to own Asian and European cars over American manufactured cars, and older people were more likely to own American manufactured cars over Asian or European models. Toyota, Ford and Honda brands were the most frequently owned, despite income and education level. People were found to be very loyal to Land Rover and Suzuki, but more attached to their Toyotas.

People were more loyal to European manufactured cars, but were more satisfied with cars manufactured in the United States and Asia. Despite the large disparity between the factors satisfaction, commitment, brand effort, obsession and loyalty, very few people responded that they did not feel an attachment to their vehicle, which means that implementation of marketing that increases customer loyalty can benefit both the consumers and the automobile manufacturers as well.