There is a difference between purchasing a sweater online and purchasing a car online. There stakes are higher when buying a car online, sight unseen. The risk in buying a sweater online is pretty low. If you don’t like it, you can return a sweater. It’s a little more difficult to return a car once you sign for it.
A recent study by Urban Science found that the majority of young buyers, those considered Generation Z and Millennials still prefer heading to the dealership for their car than ordering one online. Yes, the generations whose cell phones are glued to their hands and do everything online want the brick and mortar dealership.
The study found that 81% of consumers in the market for a new car trusted the information they received from a franchised dealership, which was not exactly the same in the advent of the internet two decades ago. At that time, consumers were increasingly trusting online reviews over the dealership. If they couldn’t find the information they wanted from the dealership, they can find it online.
Transparaceny and trust have become important factors to consider when deciding what car to buy, as well as price. With dealerships providing their inventory online with prices, the consumer knows what dealership can best fit their budget. So, by providing the information consumers want online gives way to a better likelihood a young buyer will make their way to your dealership.
Gillespie Group is a steward for the various dealership clients. Part of our job is to help them maintain and create unified messages of transparaceny to auto intenders.