Car sites need to keep up with buyers' drivers

31 January 2008

It's accepted that over 80% of people research car purchases online. Less well known is how this has changed. The websites of automotive manufacturers are yet to respond to changes in the factors influencing purchases.

In November Global Reviews surveyed more than 1,000 UK consumers earning over £40,000 about their car purchasing behaviour and the role played by the internet. 83% said they would definitely or probably use the web to conduct general car research, while 87% said they would use it to research specific models.

Respondents were asked whether they intended to buy a new or used car. They were then asked to indicate which were their most and second-most important factors in purchasing a car.

Of the 1,000 respondents, 29% intended to purchase a new car and 34% a used car, with the remainder uncertain. New-car buyers rated look and style as the most important factor while used-car buyers rated price most highly. Interestingly, both groups rated fuel efficiency as the second-most important factor. Across all 1,000 respondents, the top five most important factors in order were price, fuel efficiency, look and style, safety, and size.

While 14% of respondents expecting to purchase new cars responded that fuel efficiency was either the most or second-most influential factor when purchasing a car, for prospective used-car purchases this jumps to 22%.

In terms of other areas of growing importance, greenhouse emissions was either the most or second-most influential factor when purchasing a car for 6% of new-car buyers and 4% of used-car buyers.

From the beginning of automotive websites, the brand has been the key focus of manufacturers. They sought to transfer the brand and driving experience into an online format. This, however, goes against what customers are seeking from the websites. The importance of the brand is only fifth for new-car buyers and eighth for used-car buyers.

Global Reviews' benchmark of automotive websites reveals that there are many that need to put a greater emphasis on information about their cars. In particular, effort should be increased to bring out the information that will influence customer decisions. Today, that information relates to fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions as much as look, style and price.

Adam Goodvach is director of Global Reviews UK