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.