Acxiom(R) Finds Domestics Are Best Positioned in Declining Pickup Market

As 2008 light-duty pickup sales have declined by nearly 17 percent through April 2008, it is no surprise that continued economic pressures are drastically shrinking a market that is shared by both domestic and import brands. However, new consumer data reveals that Detroit’s Three (GM, Ford and Chrysler) hold the greatest potential to weather the storm with their current – and loyal – consumer base. An Acxiom Corporation (NASDAQ: ACXM) study discovered today that regardless of whether these consumers purchase a pickup the next time around, domestic truck owners are much more loyal to their truck and brand than are consumers of import brand trucks. This month’s Automotive Consumer Dynamics study looked at more than 19 million consumers who consider themselves "truck people” and exposed a striking stronghold that domestic brands have on the market over imports. Top findings include: Big Three Domination: domestic brands have successfully built large, loyal franchises of consumers for their trucks over several decades – something that import brands have failed to do despite significant marketing and product development investments Wide Open Spaces, Wide Open Opportunity: the traditional pickup consumer, represented by those individuals who live in rural areas and/or use a pickup primarily for its utility function, still remains the best target for manufacturers and retailers to concentrate their marketing efforts. Domestic Devotion: domestic truck owners are more loyal to the truck and the brand as compared to their import counterparts, and they also display a much higher propensity to have multiple pickups of the same brand in their garages. However, among the top six trucks, only Chevy Silverado owners increased their brand affinity each year over the past three years. Truck buyer interests: Consumers of domestic trucks are a highly-defined group, sharing a significant number of the same interests; Asian truck consumers are more disparate and don’t exhibit traditional "truck buyer” interests Next Vehicle Purchase: Current truck owners increased their intention to buy a CUV or a hybrid dramatically since January of 2008. Their intention to purchase an SUV next dropped 38 percent. "It’s undeniable that the pickup market is declining rapidly, but the real opportunity lies with traditional pickup buyers,” said Acxiom Automotive Executive Tim Longnecker. "This study clearly illustrates that while today’s pickup owners may delay their next pickup purchase due to a declining economy and rising gas prices, their higher loyalty to their truck’s brand can be served with other vehicles in the brand if they leave the truck segment. And for the majority of those that stay within the pickup market, continuing to serve their needs with product innovation will be critically important.” Big Three Come Out on Top Currently, domestic pickups hold over 87 percent of the market share, with the majority of those consumers falling within Acxiom Automotive Consumer Group 8: Wide Open Spaces. This group includes individuals who live in rural areas and/or use a pickup primarily for its utility function. The study found that these consumers continue to have the strongest propensity to buy domestic pickups, attributed to the loyal franchises these manufacturers have built over several decades. "Over the past three years, we have found that consumer appeal for domestic trucks has remained high, while that for import trucks has not developed despite significant marketing efforts,” says Longnecker. "Because domestic manufacturers have established large numbers of brand loyalists, they are best positioned to serve these current customers within the brand – whether they exit the segment or not.” Domestic Brand and Truck Loyalty Acxiom found that traditional pickup consumers display extreme brand devotion and truck loyalty as they consistently purchase vehicles that are of the same brand as the pickup they own. For example, Acxiom found that since 2005, Ford F-150 owners have consistently remained "all Ford” with garage mates ranging from another F-150 to a Ford Explorer to a Ford Mustang. Acxiom also found that over 14 percent of Detroit Three pickup owners have a second truck of the same brand in their garage, while fewer than 10 percent of import pickup owners do. The study shows that these trends can be attributed to the fact that domestic pickup consumers are a highly-defined group, sharing a significant number of the same interests, proving they are a strong and stable consumer group invaluable to the future of the domestic pickup market. The Disparate Import Truck Buyer Alternatively, those consumers who purchase import pickups are not as easily defined as their domestic counterparts and are far more disparate when it comes to general interests and lifestyle habits. These individuals, although displaying loyalty to import brands, do not show the allegiance to the pickup segment that domestic buyers display and could exhibit "once and done” behavior, purchasing a pickup only one time. Those Consumers Who Leave Truck owners’ intention for their next vehicle purchase has changed dramatically from January through April of 2008. Several non-truck segments showed increases. Nearly 50 percent of truck owners are considering a car next (up 13 points). Another 34 percent of truck owners plan to purchase another truck (up 6 points). About 17 percent are considering a CUV (up 11 points) and 7 percent are considering a hybrid (up 5 points). Fewer truck owners are considering an SUV (18 percent, down 11 points) or a minivan (3 percent, down 4 points) to replace their truck. Since two-thirds of current truck owners are considering their next vehicle purchase outside of the truck segment, all automakers and retailers have a historic opportunity to keep these valuable customers from fleeing the brand, even if they leave the truck segment. This is the fourth in an ongoing series of monthly, consumer-centric studies of the North American automotive industry, titled Automotive Consumer Dynamics. To download a copy of the study, or to subscribe to receive future editions, please visit www.acxiom.com/automotive (no registration required). Automotive Consumer Dynamics is powered Acxiom’s InfoBaseX™, the largest, most accurate, comprehensive and multi-sourced data collection of U.S. consumer information in one source. PersonicX® is Acxiom’s household-level segmentation suite that places U.S. households into one of 70 distinct segments and 21 life-stage groups based upon specific consumer behavior and demographic characteristics. About Automotive Consumer Dynamics Automotive Consumer Dynamics differs from other studies and analysis available to the industry in that it focuses on all U.S. consumers versus a sample, is prospective (what specific vehicles consumers intend to purchase next) versus historical (what aggregate consumers purchased last, and the findings are immediately actionable by automotive marketers because they provide addressability to specific individuals and households of interest. Automotive Consumer Dynamics categorizes all U.S. automotive consumers into 10 consumer groups by combining the attitudes, behaviors, intentions, and current vehicle ownership of vehicle buyers across the country. The study offers predictive, timely information that can improve automotive marketing effectiveness and overall business performance dramatically through more timely and targeted communications to key prospects. About Acxiom At Acxiom, we make information intelligent for many of the world’s leading and most dynamic companies, enabling them to acquire new customers, retain their most valuable customers, communicate with customers in the methods and times they prefer, and make profitable marketing and business decisions. Acxiom’s unmatched customer insight is achieved by blending the world’s largest repository of consumer data, award-winning technology and analytics, multi-channel expertise, privacy leadership, and superior knowledge of a wide spectrum of industries. Automotive The world’s leading automakers, distributors, retail groups, financial institutions and other companies within the global automotive industry rely on Acxiom to provide an unparalleled combination of consumer insights, digital solutions, multi-channel marketing expertise, analytics and technology, to empower them to become more consumer-centric and faster-to-market. Delivered with an integrated consultative approach, we provide superior business value and ROI for our clients worldwide. Founded in 1969, Acxiom (Nasdaq: ACXM) is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, with locations throughout the United States and Europe, and in Australia and China. For more information about Acxiom, visit www.acxiom.com. Acxiom is a registered trademark of Acxiom Corporation.