No Haggle or Discount? What is the future of Car buying? In our opinion it isn’t a question of either or, it’s a how much of each is just the right mix. There is a segment of those who will forgo a serious bargain in return for a faster process and those who want to drive away knowing they got the best deal they could. The best ratio is probably determined by taking a look at the soon to be largest market of buyers, Millennials.

It is often assumed that millennials are the “Shopping Cart” consumer because their preferences are usually centered around simplicity and ease of use, tendencies that one would assume favor a “No Haggle” approach. But, what the Automotive Industry may be overlooking is that millennials are also the generation that grew up in the Great Recession, a difficult time brought on in great part by atypical spending with money that was too easy to get. They saw their parents become financially overexposed and many had to witness as their families lost much or most of what they had spent their lives accumulating. Needless to say, it was those types of experiences that shaped a generation that we now see favoring mobility and flexibility when it comes to financial decision-making and ownership.

The automotive industry doesn’t have to look very far to see these habits playing out as a recent JD Power survey discovered. They found that the millennial car buyer spends a week longer than a baby boomer deciding on which car to buy and then 4.5 hours longer during the process of buying it. For those who favor the “No Haggle” model whose biggest value proposition might be that of saving time, this could be something to be concerned about. However, millennials also asked more questions about credit and tended to favor bargain vehicles or deals which could favor a One Price model that provides an initial discount as part of its proposition.

In conclusion, Millennials care about the price they pay just as we can agree any generation does, but millennials may exceed any other in a concern for the ability to have choices and flexibility in coming to that price. One price, no matter how carefully worded, IS saying to your customer: “This is what we have determined to be a good price, take it or leave it”. Is taking that flexibility away from the millennial generation an overall winning proposition when they have demonstrated the willingness to put in more time and work for a better deal? Like the answers to most questions about the future, only time can tell…

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Here's What You Need to Know About Millennial Car Shopping Habits " AutoGuide.com News
It turns out that millennials aren't a car-hating generation and they actually do want to buy cars, just not how you…www.autoguide.com