Most Car Buyers Would Prefer Online Shopping, Study Finds

 Automotive  

A recent study reveals that most car buyers prefer online vehicle shopping, and that they would like to be able to buy a car over the Internet.

The Internet has been a very important part of the purchasing process for many industries for years now, but the automotive industry has not been one of them. Although automakers embraced digital marketing a long time ago, the process of purchasing a car is still largely conducted at physical brick-and-mortar stores. But a recent study reveals that most car buyers would gladly abandon the traditional way of buying a car in favor of a digital experience. A survey conducted by consulting company Accenture shows that online vehicle purchasing is becoming increasingly popular across the world, with the vast majority of consumers saying that they would like to be able to buy a car over the Internet.

Accenture surveyed 10,000 consumers in eight countries, 1,000 of which was in the United States, with 76% of respondents saying that they would consider conducting each phase of the car purchasing process – including financing, delivery and price negotiation. This means that only a small fraction of today's consumers are comfortable with going to auto dealerships to buy a car.

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What's more, 48% of the people surveyed said that they would consider taking a virtual test drive at the dealership, instead of an actual test drive, which is one of the most important things that car buyers need to do before making their purchasing decision.

"In order to grow business in this environment, OEMs and dealers will need to pursue an aggressive digital strategy online, in the showroom and in aftersales, while creating a seamless, integrated experience to accommodate all customer needs."

In addition to this, the survey shows that consumers are increasingly using various online channels, such as social media, when researching a new car, with 62 percent of the respondents saying that they start their car-buying process on the Internet. Moreover, 63 percent of them would consider purchasing a new vehicle through an online auction.

Another interesting finding from this survey shows that most consumers believe that buying a car online would be much more convenient than the traditional way, with 87 percent of them saying that an entirely digital car-purchasing process would be more simple. Only 13 percent of those surveyed do not believe that car purchasing will move online in the near future.

“The impact of the digital customer is becoming pervasive, disrupting the traditional car-buying experience and the competitive landscape,” said Christina Raab, global managing director for Digital Consumer Services in Accenture’s Automotive practice. “This is clearly supported by the fact that many would consider conducting the entire car-buying process online. In order to grow business in this environment, OEMs and dealers will need to pursue an aggressive digital strategy online, in the showroom and in aftersales, while creating a seamless, integrated experience to accommodate all customer needs.”

When it comes to what consumers consider to be the most important factors making for a better car-buying experience via online channels, respondents in the U.S. said that they are mostly interested in comparison shopping sites, whereas Chinese respondents want to be able to obtain detailed information about a specific car model that would be tailored to their needs.

Accenture conducted this survey in December 2014, by polling a total of 10,000 vehicle owners in eight countries, including Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan and the United States.

By Jordan Perch

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Author Bio - 33rd Square contributor Jordan Perch is an automotive fanatic and “safe driving” specialist. He is a writer for DMV.com, which is a collaborative community designed to help ease the stress and annoyance of “dealing with the DMV.”