The UK auto industry is failing in its efforts to reach out to consumers online, according to a new study.
Research by the experience design consultancy Foolproof claims to have identified major shortfalls in the online test drive booking processes of UK car manufacturers.
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Amongst the worst offenders were Smart, Toyota and Alfa Romeo.
The research evaluated 32 UK car brand websites and found a “concerning picture for the UK car industry”, with only a small number of manufacturers’ online booking processes offering customers a viable, useful experience.
It went on to say that, in general, the processes were characterised by: poor visibility and promotion on the site; poor usability; requests for irrelevant personal information and poor channel integration.
A small number of manufacturers emerge with some credit from the study although, in all cases, Foolproof said there was significant room for improvement, with even the best sites falling short against a number of key benchmark principles.
The report claims that only a quarter of manufacturers allow customers to choose when a test drive will take place. Of those, only 38% provide time slots of two hours or less.
“Half day slots are not specific enough for customers to plan their day. Websites should aim to show which time slots are available and which are already taken. This type of live time booking is common-place on supermarket home delivery websites and, nowadays, consumers demand this level of flexibility as standard,” the report said.
Tom Wood, managing partner of Foolproof said: “Given the importance of the test drive within the new car sales journey, our review of online booking systems raises some worrying questions. It’s likely that every year these systems push many thousands of frustrated potential customers back into traditional channels for booking. By doing so, they threaten immediate sales as well as creating a long-term drag on customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.
“The study looked at just one aspect of the digital customer experience. But it was enough to convince us that there is potential for significant competitive advantage for motor brands that engineer an improved user experience.”
The best scoring sites were Volkswagen, Honda and Renault. “These sites successfully adopted some of the best practice user experience standards for booking systems from other industries. They also appear to have put more effort into aligning the online and offline channels,” Foolproof said.
The full report can be found by clicking here.
