Customer sentiment has dipped across all regions to begin 2025.

This aligns with what we typically see—negativity reaching its yearly low in Q1, before rising over the summer.

A likely contributor is the 16% drop in review volume so far this year. 

Historically, higher review volume tends to lift average ratings—likely because it captures a broader, more balanced range of customer experiences, including more satisfied buyers.

Stay tuned: We’ll continue tracking this shift in sentiment to see whether it signals a short-term fluctuation or a broader shift in shopper satisfaction.

To read this chart above, start by looking at the gold bars on the left, which represent how often staff was mentioned in good and bad Google reviews in 2024. The dotted lines establish industry benchmarks, from which we can compare how often staff comes up in a few different segments: sales dept, service dept, luxury dealerships, non-luxury dealerships.

What stands out: Staff play a significantly larger role in driving positive outcomes in sales than in service.

In contrast, negative reviews show a consistent level of staff-related mentions in both sales and service.

The takeaway: When staff deliver a great experience, it can transform the entire interaction. But when things go wrong, poor staff performance is often just one of several issues affecting the customer’s experience.

We've put together reputation reports for each of the top 150 dealer groups. Get them for free -> here.

See you next week - Jake, Marketing @Widewail

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