- Consumer interest in online vehicle buying emerges as web sophistication grows.
- New online tools such as search engines, automotive blogs and web forums are becoming key information sources for vehicle buyers.
- Consumers are going “green.”
- Vehicle buyers want their information fast. And if they don’t get it, they will switch dealers, brands or both.
- Personalized communications have a significant impact on repurchase decisions.
Consumer interest in online vehicle buying emerges as web sophistication grows.
20% of consumers said they were likely or very likely to buy a vehicle over the Internet. While still a small percentage, it is significantly higher than when we last looked closely at the topic of online car buying. In 2001, only 2% of consumers were looking to the web as a channel to purchase vehicles.
Driving this change are factors such as increasing web sophistication, more targeted use of the Internet and a growing comfort level with using the web to purchase items such as computers, televisions and home appliances. We don’t anticipate a boom in online vehicle sales nor do we expect to see the franchised dealership system disappear, but we may be seeing the emergence of an untapped latent market that merits closer investigation.
New online tools such as search engines, automotive blogs and web forums are becoming key information sources for vehicle buyers.
In this year’s study, 29% of web users indicated that they use consumer-to-consumer (C2C) sites such as web forums, blogs or Internet discussion groups when researching information during the vehicle shopping process, up from 21% a year ago. In addition, 78% of web users rely on search engines when researching car purchases.
These options are not being used in lieu of manufacturer websites – in fact use of manufacturer sites is on the rise. Consumers are using them to obtain supporting information and a more objective viewpoint. As these new tools become an increasingly powerful force driving purchase decisions they must be given a higher ratio of the marketing mix by automotive companies.
Consumers are going “green.”
More than one-quarter of this year’s Cars Online respondents said they currently own or lease a fuel-efficient vehicle and half said they are planning to buy or are thinking seriously about buying a fuel-efficient vehicle. A smaller percentage own or are considering buying an alternative-fuel vehicle.
Interestingly, the reasons behind consumer decisions vary somewhat by market. For example, European consumers were more likely than those in the U.S. or China to cite environmental impact as a primary factor influencing their buying decisions, while more respondents in China and the U.S. pointed to fuel economy.
Vehicle buyers want their information fast. And if they don’t get it, they will switch dealers, brands or both.
This year 34% of European and U.S. consumers said they expect to receive a response to a web inquiry within four hours, up from about 30% last year. This number has risen steadily over the past few years as web usage grows and consumers become more demanding. And if they don’t get their response fast enough? Half of the respondents will look for a new dealer and 25% will look for a new manufacturer or for both a new dealer and a new manufacturer. The bottom line: Faster response times result in higher conversion rates.
Personalized communications have a significant impact on repurchase decisions.
About two-thirds of consumers said the receipt of personalized post-sale communications from manufacturers or dealers would make them more likely to purchase another vehicle from that same company. At the same time, however, it is important to keep in mind that not all consumers appreciate personalized communication. Companies need to understand who is open to this kind of approach and who isn’t, which requires having the right systems and processes in place to effectively manage consumer segmentation.
These findings make it clear that consumer behavior is evolving and that automotive companies need to anticipate this evolution in order to be part of, or even influence, the changes. Is your company ready? Here’s what it will take to respond to changing consumer behavior.
