Online car research and buying process keeps growing

Two key studies – by eBay and Strategy Analytics- have found that a growing number of customers are researching cars online before going on to purchase a vehicle

A survey by consultancy firm, Strategy Analytics, found that carmakers should make it a priority to partner with dealers to optimise their online car buying channels.

The survey of consumers in the US, the UK and China shows that US and China-based consumers are most interested in online car buying activities including choosing vehicle specs, estimating cost and taxes, and checking nearby dealer inventories.

Comparatively, respondents in Western Europe were the least open to conducting vehicle purchasing tasks online.

Checking dealer inventory, choosing vehicle specs, and estimating fees or taxes were the top three activities consumers were most interested in across all regions.

Premium vehicle owners in China exhibited higher interest than owners of other vehicle classes in most online activities, and respondents aged 18-24 and 55 or over were most likely to show lower interest in the listed online activities.

Derek Viita senior analyst and report author says: “With over 60% of respondents across all regions exhibiting interest in checking nearby dealer inventory and estimating fees or taxes over the internet, OEMs should make it a priority to partner with dealers and optimise such services online.”

“This would allow OEMs to involve themselves in the early stage of consumers’ vehicle purchasing decision process,” Viita adds.

One particular finding is that respondents did not exhibit strong interest in talking to a dealer online, indicating that many of the consumers surveyed do not want involvement with a dealer during the process of online research.

However, the survey notes “such capabilities would become important at a later stage of the purchasing and decision making process, in addition to the ability to check application status over the internet.”

eBay Motors: 87% of people researching cars online before buying

The findings come after an eBay Advertising survey found that 63% of US-based respondents are either “extremely likely” or “likely” to purchase a vehicle online in the future.

eBay Advertising says it got responses from more than 1000 US consumers between the ages of 18 and 65 who had purchased a vehicle in the last six months.

The company also analysed eBay Motors data based on approximately 1000 consumers who had either made purchases from the “cars & trucks” category on eBay Motors, or who had browsed through eBay Motors in 2016.

According to the findings, “Every three minutes, a car or truck was sold on eBay via a mobile device during the fourth quarter of 2016”.

The eBay report also found that 87% of car buyers used the internet in some way in the past six months when buying a car.
Additional findings include, twice as many men as women have purchased cars online, citing reasons such as convenience, low prices, variety and having access to more options, while women are more likely than men to keep their vehicle until it dies.
eBay Motors buyers also prefer customer and professional reviews over informational dealership visits.