ICA data finds car wash tech outpaces the customer relationship

Car wash operators have moved faster on digitizing payments and entry than on building the customer relationships that actually drive loyalty, according to new research from the International Carwash Association. The trade group's Q3 2026 edition of its quarterly CAR WASH Pulse report, covered by Professional Carwashing & Detailing, zeroes in on technology and AI and finds a persistent gap between what customers want and what washes have built.

The headline takeaway: personalized offers and rewards are the single strongest technology-related reason consumers say they would switch car washes, ahead of any app feature, payment upgrade, or entry system. The ICA frames loyalty and personalization as the clearest low-risk growth lever available to operators right now.

The personalization gap

Across the survey, 29% of consumers overall, and 36% of current members, said personalized offers and rewards would most likely convince them to switch washes. That outperformed every other technology upgrade tested. Despite that demand, only 54% of retailers run a digital loyalty platform and just 31% use AI to personalize offers, even though loyalty rewards and discounts rank as the two most-wanted app features among consumers.

James Risley, research manager at the ICA, summed up the disconnect by saying the industry has "digitized the transaction faster than it has digitized the relationship." He described investment in loyalty and personalization as running behind consumer demand.

Reliability and people still matter

The report also cautions that technology cannot replace either dependable equipment or human staff. Nearly half of consumers, 48%, said confusing or broken app, payment, or entry technology makes them less likely to return, a figure that rises to 53% among former and never-members. When technology fails, customers most want an employee on hand to help.

Staff remain the primary engine for growth as well. Fifty-six percent of retailers said an on-site employee is their single most effective channel for signing up new members. Mobile apps, by contrast, work mainly as a retention tool for existing members rather than a recruitment tool. Only 16% of never-members said an app would move them to switch, and 31% described themselves as app-averse. Current members, meanwhile, are far more engaged with and motivated by apps.

Why it matters for operators

The research lands at a moment when rising input costs and tighter margins are forcing operators to be selective about where they spend. The data suggests the highest-return technology investment is not the newest gadget but the tools that make customers feel recognized and rewarded. If roughly half of washes still lack a digital loyalty platform, adding or improving one addresses the top switch trigger consumers named.

There are two practical implications. First, apps and rewards programs pay off most with people who are already members, so operators should treat digital channels as retention infrastructure rather than an acquisition strategy. Second, on-site staff remain the closers for new subscriptions, which argues against cutting labor to the point that no one is available to sell memberships or troubleshoot technology at the point of failure. Broken or confusing tech actively drives customers away, so reliability should be treated as a baseline, not an afterthought. In short, the money is better spent deepening relationships than chasing novelty.