Foresight Research: Accessories offer big dealer profits– with Acura and other luxury brands - and Ford, GMC and Ram trucks leading the way

ROCHESTER, Mich., March 27, 2017 -- Automotive accessories contribute billions in revenue to the auto industry and the business has grown more than 35% in the last three years.  In fact, half of all new auto buyers install accessories.

Turning to the new car dealer’s part of this market, when the dealer brings up accessories during the dealer visit, the spend on accessories more than doubles.  Some dealers sell much more - like Acura, BMW, Audi, Cadillac and Mercedes Benz as well as Ford, GMC and Ram trucks. But many miss out because they do not offer accessories to the customer.  Those missing out are more often the Asian brand dealers selling volume and luxury cars as well as trucks.

“For most vehicle buyers, accessories are not just a last minute impulse purchase, but instead are one of the several criteria they use to make the vehicle choice – often before going to the dealer,” said Steve Bruyn, CEO of Foresight Research.  “Understanding who these buyers are and how they approach accessories as part of the purchase decision is key to maximizing revenue potential.”   Just as there are certain consumer groups likely to buy accessories, there are also specific groups who incorporate accessories into their purchase decision, according to Foresight Research’s recently published   “Inside the Mind of the Accessory Buyer”.  So, while it may sound like the tail wagging the dog, for these buyers, about one in five of all buyers, accessories are important to dealer selection and purchase.

One of the findings revealed that the majority of accessory buyers think it is important that the accessories they buy are branded with their own vehicle brand.  Other critical factors are:  professional installation, making sure the vehicle warranty is maintained and accessory selection.  The new car dealer has the advantage on those criteria.

Foresight Research interviewed nearly 6,000 new car buyers and about 3,000 buyers have or will accessorize. The recently released “Inside The Mind of The Accessory Buyer” ^{T M} delves into accessory shopping practices, influential communications and buying perspectives among new car buyers to arm accessory planners and marketers with insights.  The study also focuses on branding and accessory budgets.  “This intelligence can support a broad range of strategy decisions for accessory marketing, because it gives perspective on how car buyers think about accessories,” Bruyn says.

About Foresight Research – www.foresightresearch.com.

Foresight Research provides information, strategies and best practices for marketers.  The robust Foresight databases explore new auto purchase influence for 16 marketing channels; provide actionable insights regarding the experiential marketing experience; and contribute to ROI analyses for automakers and their partners.

Contact
Steve Bruyn
Foresight Research
248.608.1870 x 12
[email protected]