Bankruptcy and consumer opinion

A recent report from Ad-ology Research quantifies what we all knew: Many folks aren’t likely to buy a car from an automaker considering bankruptcy.

Westerville, Ohio-based Ad-ology Research recently surveyed 1,225 U.S. adults in a manner 98% representative of the adult population. The margin of error for this survey is +/- 2.2 percentage points.

The results are that 21% of consumers say they definitely would not consider buying a car from an automaker considering bankruptcy, and 28.6% said they probably would not consider buying a car from a struggling manufacturer. Also, 50% of respondents think an auto dealership must be struggling if they stop or cut back on advertising, and 19% assume the dealership will be less willing to deal.

Other findings of the survey were:
• 46% of consumers say they view a company’s products or services much less or somewhat less favorably after an announcement of a large number of layoffs.

• Of consumers who would consider buying a car from a struggling automaker “only if they got a great deal,” 38.6% said a deeply discounted price and 38.8% said a discounted/free extended warranty would make a purchase more likely

• 80% of consumers surveyed are as willing or even more willing to pay more for “green” products than they were a year ago

• 33% think a “focus on value” is the most effective tone for advertising in the current economic climate.