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Which Consumer Brands Resonate with Auto Brands and Vice Versa?
TUSTIN, Calif. (December 10, 2009) — You won’t likely find many Porsches parked in front of Walmart. Only one in 17 Walmart Shoppers will even consider a Porsche. On the other hand one in six REI shoppers will consider a Porsche. A Generation Y new vehicle buyer is much more likely to also purchase an Apple product — computer, iPod, and iPhone than older new vehicle buyers. Shoppers at H&M — a trendy “cheap-chic” clothier — are much more into their vehicle’s image than their vehicle’s power and acceleration. Trader Joe’s customers are more likely to drive an Audi, BMW or Volvo.
A just released study of consumer brands and automotive brands sold in the United States provides in-depth information on the relationships existing between new vehicle buyers and twenty-seven consumer brands. This information gives insight not only into who is buying the consumer brands, but what is important to them, what other brands are cross-shopped and how it all plays into their automotive brand preferences.
“Our research indicates that American car buyers have dramatically different buying profiles for consumer brands. Selection of a consumer brand and selection of a vehicle brand and type are heavily tied together. The parking lot at Whole Foods is a lot different from the one at Walmart,” notes George Peterson, President of AutoPacific.

AutoPacific’s Consumer Brand Study is based on the results of AutoPacific’s annual survey of over 32,000 new car and light truck buyers in the United States. The study closely looks at recent buyers of new cars and light trucks and how they relate to twenty-seven consumer brands from Walmart to Louis Vuitton.
“Target, Walmart, Home Depot and Lowe’s are cornerstone American brands that most people visit at least occasionally. The buyer profiles for these brands parallel new vehicle buyers nationally. It’s when you get to brands with more niche appeal like Apple, Starbucks, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, not to mention REI and H&M, where things get really different. Each consumer brand has a very distinctive footprint in types of consumers, factors important to them, vehicles owned and the ones they’ll consider next time.”
Auto manufacturers and suppliers use the AutoPacific Consumer Brand Study to better understand the target audience for the buyers of their vehicles. Consumer brands use the study to identify target markets and the mindset of the buyers attracted to their brand. In addition to US Automotive brands, the following 27 brands are analyzed: Target, Coca Cola, Old Navy, Levi’s, Walmart, Apple, Gap, Polo, Home Depot, HP (Hewlett-Packard), Louis Vuitton, IKEA, Lowe’s, TJ Maxx, Hugo Boss, Method, Trader Joe’s, Gucci, Costco, Axe, Whole Foods, Starbucks, LG (not cell phone), McDonalds, H&M, REI, and Sony.
About AutoPacific
AutoPacific is a future-oriented automotive marketing research and product-consulting firm. Every year AutoPacific publishes a wide variety of syndicated studies on the automotive industry. The firm, founded in 1986, also conducts extensive proprietary research and consulting for auto manufacturers, distributors, marketers and suppliers worldwide. Company headquarters and its state-of-the-art automotive research facility are in Tustin, California, with an affiliate office in the Detroit area. Additional information can be found on AutoPacific’s websites: http://www.autopacific.com and http:/.vehiclevoice.com.
Contacts:
Dan Hall, AutoPacific, (714) 838-4234, dan.hall@autopacific.com
Deborah Grieb, AutoPacific (734) 446-6940, deborah.grieb@autopacific.com