What Consumers Expect When Shopping for a Car Online

People Still Want a Better Purchase

Accenture released an interesting study that published results comparing “digital natives” and “digital laggards” in a 3-country study that analyzed dealer tendencies. Digital natives was termed as frequent online shoppers and digital laggards was termed as less avid online consumers. According to Accenture:

Consumers who spend more time car shopping online end up visiting dealerships more often. But those stays are relatively short.

The 3-country study indicates 60% of natives stopped at a dealership more than two times before buying a car. Forty-seven percent of the laggards did so.

Although natives visit dealerships more often, they spend less time on the premises because they make most of their purchase decisions beforehand online, according to the study.

Accenture says that underscores the recasting of a dealership as a place to finish the vehicle purchase rather than as a starting point of vehicle shopping. The study says many customers don’t see the need for in-person interaction at every stage of the transaction.

The survey cites a “digital paradox”: The more information digital car shoppers get, the more they want a rewarding dealership experience.

“They are visiting showrooms to seek distinct information to supplement the information found on the web, and want counsel from product and customer experts instead of a traditional sales presentation,” says Axel Schmidt, Accenture’s managing director-automotive practice.

The study polled consumers in the U.S., China and Germany, major auto markets with different buying preferences.

The most surprising thing to me when I read about consumers ready to buy cars online and their expectation for a better experience is that anyone reading the article is still surprised. Is the best dealers can do is suggest consumers plan to pay bills, plan vacations or catch up on emails or anything else they need to do online except buy a car?

by Jim Dykstra and William Soule