Four in 10 dealers say showrooms still too “male dominated”

Four in 10 dealers (40%) say car showrooms remain male dominated environments, according to new research.

July’s new Startline Used Car Tracker, which is based on the views of 300 consumers, shows 35% believe some women are buying online to avoid showrooms and 33% that they need to recruit and empower more female staff.

However, 48% have tried to make their showrooms more female friendly and 42% now employ women in their sales teams – although only 22% employ as many women as men.

These questions were asked following recent research showing 48% of women feel the car retail experience is biased toward men, with only a quarter feeling comfortable asking for help in a showroom.

Paul Burgess, Startline Motor Finance chief executive, said: “Our findings suggest that a large minority of people working in motor retail agree that the sector still has some considerable distance to travel in serving the needs of women.

“Clearly, some have recognised this problem and taken welcome actions such as employing more female staff in order to try to improve the situation, but it’s perhaps telling that a third believe women are circumventing the showroom altogether by shopping online.”

The research also shows 33% think more feedback is needed from women customers to understand their views while 12% admit they don’t know how to make their showrooms more female-friendly.

Burgess said: “To some extent, these responses underline the problems some parts of the industry face. Perhaps more research by dealers is needed to fully understand this issue.”