Car buyers go mobile

Almost 80% of vehicles sold in the last 12 months have been over a smartphone.

According to research from BuyaCar.co.uk, 78.5% of the car orders it has processed in the last year were at least partly ordered over a mobile.

Three years ago, 41.4% of orders were made over a desktop or laptop computer, with mobiles accounting for 40.4% and tablets the rest.

BuyaCar.co.uk believes increased use of smartphones in its transactions reflects the fact that the overwhelming majority of BuyaCar customers are in their 20s and 30s. Meanwhile, the reduction in tablet use in the car buying process may reflect the tendency for tablets to be most popular today with older users who are less likely to buy cars online.

Technological advances in fraud prevention, such as facial recognition, have also helped to make smartphones a go-to tool.

Andy Oldham, CEO of BuyaCar.co.uk, said: “It means that buying a car on your phone is becoming as normal as ordering a takeaway meal. Today, every part of the buying process is possible through the small screen.”