The East Midlands has the highest demand for new service plan customers, according to a new survey by GForces.

The survey of 2,000 UK motorists shows the East Midlands (23%) has the highest level of demand. The lowest level is in Yorkshire and the Humber region (16%).

Motorists currently most likely to already use a service plan are those in Scotland (35% of all respondents), and least likely in East Anglia (15%).

On average, 20% of respondents that don’t currently have a service plan said that they are interested in purchasing one.
In terms of age differences, those most interested in a plan are in the 35 to 44 age range (22%), compared to just 15% in the 55 years-and-over group.

GForces is urging dealers to promote the sale of service plans on their websites to better promote the product to interested customers.

The survey also suggests that franchised dealers also have a significant opportunity to promote the sale of parts and accessories to motorists online – 32% of respondents to the survey said they would prefer to buy through a franchised dealer’s website than via any other online retailer.

Significantly, just 36% of the top 200 franchised vehicle retail groups in the UK currently have parts stores on their websites, according to GForces own analysis.

Franchised retailers grasping the parts-store opportunity should communicate the fact that they sell ‘official’ items – over two thirds (67%) of motorists say they prefer to take the ‘official’ route when purchasing vehicle parts and accessories online.

Tim Smith, group strategy director at GForces, said: “The scale of the service plan opportunity is significant, and growing.

“These findings highlight how all franchised retailers should adapt their digital marketing strategies and aftersales offerings to exploit changing expectations and patterns of online demand.”