Ottawa, Ontario — Alongside the release of November’s Monthly Minute newsletter, AIA Canada has put out a new report as part of its Consumer Behaviour Series that engaged 2000 Canadian drivers on how they were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
AIA Canada president J.F. Champagne delved into the report at length during a webinar on Oct. 29., where he was joined by Rick Nadeau of Quorus Consulting Group, and James Channer of In Motion Brands, to help parse through the data.
While at this point it is no mystery that traffic rates were down considerably during the height of the pandemic, Champagne and company were able to find that this actually led to drivers having more time to think about the condition and maintenance of their vehicle.
Unfortunately, this led to a misalignment with the repair industry, as 24 percent of respondents said that the pandemic made vehicle maintenance more difficult to access, as reduced staffing led to repair slowdowns.
In terms of what was gained from the pandemic, AIA found that nearly 70 percent of respondents would like to see sanitation services and online booking become standard practice even after health measures are fully lifted.
Bringing a few chairs back to the reception area would be nice though, said 64 percent of respondents whose feet probably hurt.
