How The Socio-Cultural Environment Affects Belle Tire

The economic environment has impacted Belle Tire and its customers by increasing the auto repair industry over the last several years. As the economy slowly improves, customers are hesitant to buy new cars and thus have a greater need for auto repairs and maintenance. This impacts Belle Tire by increasing the amount of people who need vehicle maintenance and repair work.
When looking at the impact of the socio-cultural environment on Belle Tire and its customers, the biggest factor is time orientation. Americans increasingly are looking to the future and place a high value on their time. This leads to a demand for fast service: tire changes done quickly and repairs done in less time than before. Belle Tire must adapt to meet these increasing demands from consumers for faster service.
The technological environment has a big impact on the customers of Belle Tire. With information readily at their fingertips via the internet, smartphones, and tablets, customers now can research approximate costs of tires and repairs and even buy tires online. This increase in consumer education due to technological advances will affect Belle Tire and the prices they offer as they strive to maintain competitive pricing.
The global environment impacts the speed and cost as which tires and vehicle parts are available to Belle Tire, thus affecting the cost to the company and the customer.
According to Consumer Reports, less than one fourth of all tires are made in the United States. Thus, the speed at which tires are available to Belle Tire could be affected as tires have to be shipped in from other countries. The price of the tires can also be affected by the economy in the country producing the tires. The value of the producing company’s dollar will directly impact the cost to the wholesaler, which in turn impacts the cost to Belle
Tire.
It is very important for Belle Tire to be aware of the competitive environment for tires and vehicle repairs. Recently, car dealerships have been attempting to increase their amount of tire sales due to research that shows “about 83% of customers who buy a set of tires from a car dealer will service their vehicle at a dealership”, according to the NADA. This significantly increases the competitive environment in which Belle Tire operates.
Governmental regulations impact many areas of the tire sale and vehicle repair industry. Directly impacting Belle Tire stores are regulations regarding proper disposal of used tires. This regulation also directly impacts customers as most stores charge customers a tire disposal fee. There are also regulations and laws concerning vehicle repairs. Mechanics performing repair work must be certified. There are also laws in place to protect customers purchasing vehicle repairs. For instance, an estimate of repair work must be provided and approved by the customer before repairs can begin. If the cost of repairs is going to exceed the estimate, the customer must be notified before additional repairs can take place.