Car buyers flock to online option

A new survey has found that more than half of car buyers would buy their vehicles online.

According to a survey of over 1,000 consumers who bought a car through carwow since dealerships were allowed to reopen, 54% of UK buyers said they would continue to do the bulk of their car buying online from now on. This compares to 45% in Spain and 38% in Germany.

It also found that 43% of carwow buyers in the UK purchased a new car without ever visiting a showroom compared to 23% in Germany and 13% in Spain.

Carrying out a test drive was the biggest reason why carwow buyers in each of the three countries visited a showroom, while one in three customers in the UK took advantage of a virtual video tour of the car they were looking to buy.

carwow CEO James Hind said: “Consumer appetite for online buying has been sharpened by the pandemic, which forced many who have previously resisted digital purchasing, to embrace it.  What is yet to be proven is if this trend will continue, but our survey of carwow customers, not just here in the UK but in Spain and Germany too, firmly indicates that online buying of cars is now the new norm.

“What we are seeing however, is that alongside an increase in consumer willingness to transact digitally, is a need for the purchase to be supported by a wider range of remote support services.  An end-to-end digital purchase process is almost expected, whilst tools that empower buyers to make decisions, such as virtual vehicle tours and from-home test drives, are growing in demand.

“Our findings also revealed that dealers in all 3 countries are being applauded by the car buying public for adapting digitally to their needs and making showrooms safe since they reopened.  Confidence is key and 88% of UK car buyers reported that choosing a carwow dealer gave them extra peace of mind.”