If you haven't heard about the upcoming change to the tyre labelling laws, then you obviously haven't been spending as much time reading and thinking about tyres as I have! In November it will become mandatory for all car tyres to feature a label detailing the tyre's performance in three key areas; wet braking, fuel consumption and noise levels. The aim is that this information will enable consumers to make better choices when purchasing their tyres. Better choices will improve drivers' safety and also be good for the environment, and as consumers choose to buy better performing tyres, tyre manufacturers will be forced to up their game and improve their tyres still further.
These new tyre labelling laws are likely to have a dramatic effect on the tyre retail industry. As this is more than likely the biggest change in tyre retailing over the last generation, it is only natural for manufacturers and retailers to wonder what the effects may be. With this change coming as we are still in a recession, it is even more important that retailers are able to properly prepare.
The current situation actually seems to be improving; while many tyre retailers have been closing branches this year, these figures have dropped from the previous year when twenty times as many branches were closing among the top 20 tyre retailers in the United Kingdom. In fact, many companies are reporting growth over the last year, with new tyre fitting depots being added to networks across the country.
The biggest concern that tyre retailers have is that consumers will be confused by these new labelling laws and that may affect their buying confidence. While tyres are a distressed purchase (i.e. not generally something that you look forward to spending your money on), it is a worry that consumers may put off buying their new tyres until the last possible minute, which puts them at greater risk of experiencing an accident as their Suspension will not be performing as well as they should. One thing the retailers will be doing to try to combat this is having a lot of point of sale literature available to explain the labels to consumers. They will also need to accept that consumers may require a bit more time spent on explaining things to them when they are choosing their tyres prior to fitting. In the long run, the extra effort should pay off, as better informed consumers make for an improved retail environment.
