Selling peace of mind: capitalizing on customer attitudes toward theft and recovery systems

Every year in the United States, hundreds of thousands of vehicles are stolen. In 2020, the totals jumped by more than 9% over 2019 to 873,080 thefts – about 2,400 daily on average. But does this translate to real concern by new car buyers that their new purchase might be the next target of criminal activity? And are they willing to spend real money on solutions that will help get their stolen car back fast? 

The answer is a resounding “Yes!” on both counts. We conducted a nationwide survey that confirmed this and provided valuable insights that can help car dealers better understand their customers’ concerns and behaviors, and help match them with a vehicle theft recovery solution that both meets consumer needs as well as generating a profitable new line of revenue for the dealership. 

Consumers want to protect their new vehicle investment and are willing to pay

In early 2021, RecovR ran an online survey to gauge consumer sentiment among existing car owners who plan on buying a new vehicle in 2021. With responses from hundreds of people in all 50 states, ranging in age from 22 to 73, we learned:

• 53% are very or somewhat concerned about theft. They had good reason to worry – 30% had experienced vehicle theft themselves.
• 45% weren’t aware that theft recovery systems exist, and 60% had never used one before.
• 56% said they’d spend between $400 and $700 on a theft recovery system

Consumer expectations regarding theft recovery systems

We found respondents had simple expectations of theft recovery systems. They want an easy-to-use solution that lets them track a vehicle when someone else uses it (with or without their permission), locate the vehicle if they forget where they parked it, and, of course, recover a stolen vehicle as quickly as possible. 

That last point is critical. The sooner a vehicle theft is reported, the less chance it will be damaged. According to the FBI, in 2019, it cost an average of almost $9,000 to restore vehicles to pre-theft conditions.

Consumers say they would be much more likely to purchase such a system if their insurance company would provide a discount on their premiums – and indeed many companies do provide such a discount for a secondary tracking device.  But car owner expectations are reasonable: 77% would be content with a 5-10% discount.

Finally, new vehicle buyers want their personal information — such as name, home address, and/or vehicle VIN — to remain private. Sixty-eight percent of respondents said they’re very or somewhat concerned this information will fall into the wrong hands, and more than half said they would be willing to pay a steep premium ($50-$100) for a system that guarantees their privacy. 

RecovR meets all these expectations – and more

RecovR is the new kid on the theft recovery block and we are doing things differently than the other guys.  Our solution is wireless and battery-powered, meaning that RecovR can be both installed AND removed in less than a minute. So there’s no need for special training, lengthy installations, and no financial loss from unsold units driving off the lot. There’s also no risk of voiding vehicle warranties or draining car batteries as wired solutions can do if they’re not correctly installed. RecovR is a product of the Kudelski Group, an international security and technology corporation with 11,000 clients and 32 offices worldwide.  

Best yet, RecovR is completely free to dealers! There are no upfront costs, and we only get paid when dealers sell RecovR to their customers. Dealers also benefit from an advanced lot management system that ensures inventory (indoors and outdoors) is visible at all times, and the system provides custom text and e-mail alerts if vehicles leave the lot after hours. The financial benefits to dealerships as well as the savings compared to other systems are significant, so we’ll explain these aspects and others in future articles.

For more information now, download our ebook, visit recovr.biz or get in touch.

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