06 September 2011
After all these years, women still feel they're getting the raw end of the stick when it comes to car shopping.
According to a recent study by UK car retailer Quicks, 50% of women feel they're more than likely than a man to be ripped off by a car dealer; 43% feel patronised by salesmen and almost a third go so far as to say they actually hate visiting a car dealership. And here we were thinking times had changed.But is this a worry for the automotive industry? Well, one would think so, given half of the UK's drivers are women, who make or influence 85% of all car-buying decisions.
And not only did the women surveyed find buying a car unpleasant, surprisingly, they still feel the need to take a man along for the ride - more than 40% of women said they wouldn't buy a car from a dealer without taking a man-bag along with them, with a third saying they're not taken seriously by dealers if they go alone; and more than a quarter feel uncomfortable shopping for a car when a salesperson begins to approach them to help!
Quicks thinks it has the answer to all of this, basing its showrooms on the style of high street stores and cafes - think Apple, M&S and Starbucks. It aims to create a relaxed, unpressured shopping experience and has even introduced mini cinemas to distract the kids while parents browse.