US Shopping for a Car Online Consumer Report 2024
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Report Summary
Stay ahead of the curve and future-proof your business with Mintel’s US Shopping for a Care Online Market Report 2024. Our full report is packed with consumer-led market intelligence, the latest online car shopping market research, trends, and consumer behaviors affecting your business. Get a 360° view of the online car sector to help you align your business strategy with the needs of your audience.
Below, we’ve handpicked the key insights analyzed in the full report and summarized the core topics.
Key Topics Covered in Full Report
- Consumers’ online car buying experience.
- Important benefits and concerns when buying a car online.
- Consumers’ research approach and resources used when buying a car online.
- Consumers’ attitudes toward online car shopping.
Online Car Shopping Market Report
In an era marked by economic challenges and heightened consumer scrutiny over spending, there is significant interest in online car shopping. With inflation impacting budgets, particularly for significant investments like cars, consumers are understandably cautious. Amidst soaring prices in the automotive market, buyers pivot towards online marketplaces driven by the pursuit of value and broader selection.
- Online car shopping market statistic: The average lifespan of light vehicles in operation reached an unprecedented 12.5 years.
Readers of this report may also be interested in our US Perceptions of Auto Brands Market Report 2024, or our range of Automotive Market Research.
Meet the Expert
This report, written by Gabe Sanchez, a leading research analyst, delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight trends in the online car shopping market and add expert context to the numbers.
In a dynamic automotive landscape, consumers indicate an interest in online car shopping. Addressing concerns and showcasing benefits will be crucial for growth.
Gabe Sanchez
Automotive Analyst
Table of Contents
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Executive Summary
- What you need to know
- Consumer trends: key takeaways
- Consumer trends: key takeaways (cont’d)
- Market predictions
- Opportunities
- Opportunities (cont’d)
-
Market Dynamics
- Market context
- Consumers feel increasingly confident
- Market drivers
- Consumers are the most upbeat they have been in nearly three years
- Graph 1: consumer sentiment index, 2021-24
- Consumers’ financial outlooks are increasingly optimistic
- Graph 2: opinions on financial future, 2023/24
- Price of new and used vehicles remains elevated
- Younger consumers will make up a larger share of buyers
- Multicultural consumers present growth opportunity
- Average age of vehicles on the road has increased
- Vroom ceases online used car business
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Consumer Insights
- The consumer: fast facts
- The online car consumer: fast facts
- The online car consumer: fast facts (cont.)
- Purchase time frame and consideration
- Consumers still interested in purchasing
- Graph 3: car purchase intent, 2024
- Target younger consumers in the short term
- Graph 4: car purchase within the next year, by age and gender, 2024
- Assist women in navigating the current market
- Children drive purchasing
- Graph 5: car purchase intent, by parental status, 2024
- Fit into parents’ busy schedules
- Consumer considerations go beyond new vehicles
- Graph 6: vehicle type consideration, by age, 2024
- Consumers call for other offerings
- Graph 7: attitudes toward online car shopping for new and used cars, any agree, by age, 2024
- Room for growth
- Household income restricts consumers’ consideration
- Graph 8: vehicle type consideration, by household income, 2024
- Limited budgets drive multicultural consumers towards used vehicles
- Launch a total cost estimation tool for transparent car buying
- Graph 9: consumer interest in knowing the estimated cost of ownership before purchasing a new car online, any agree, by age, 2024
- Provide more financing options to appeal to younger consumers
- Graph 10: consumer interest in having more resources to help understand vehicle financing, any agree, by age, 2024
- Graph 11: consumer agreement that there should be more financing options when purchasing a car online, by age, 2024
- Drive financial education in car buying with budgeting tool partnerships
- The online car buying experience
- Consumers display strong interest in online car shopping
- Consumers display strong interest in online car shopping (cont.)
- Graph 12: online car buying experience, by gender, 2024
- Opportunity across generations
- Graph 13: online car buying experience, by age, 2024
- Parents are interested in online car buying
- Graph 14: online car buying experience, by parental status, 2024
- Urban consumers look to purchase online
- Graph 15: online car buying experience, by living area, 2024
- Perceived benefits of online car shopping
- Honesty is the best policy
- Honesty is the best policy (cont.)
- Graph 16: online car shopping benefits (any rank), 2024
- Highlight online car buying as a stress-free process
- Graph 17: consumer agreement that buying online could make the car purchasing process less stressful, by age, 2024
- Convenience most appealing to younger consumers
- Graph 18: online car shopping benefits (any rank), by age, 2024
- Use transparency and ease to win over consumers aged 55+
- Tesla’s ‘no haggle, no hassle’ pricing policy
- Concerns surrounding online car shopping
- Ease consumers’ concerns
- Ease consumers’ concerns (cont.)
- Graph 19: online car shopping concerns (any rank), 2024
- Leverage technology to bridge the gaps
- Improve perceptions among women
- Graph 20: online car shopping concerns (any rank), by gender, 2024
- Consumers across age groups indicate varying concerns
- Graph 21: online car shopping concerns (any rank), by age, 2024
- Appeal to parents’ search for convenient services
- Graph 22: attitudes toward online car shopping, any agree, by parental status, 2024
- Ways to reach parents
- Resources used
- Trust and experience drive consumers’ interest in online car shopping
- Graph 23: attitudes toward online car shopping, any agree, by gender, 2024
- Younger consumers drive digital evolution of car buying
- Graph 24: attitudes toward online car shopping, any agree, by age, 2024
- Blend online and in-person research to drive usage
- Graph 25: resources used, 2024
- Automaker websites witness slight decline in usage
- Graph 26: automaker website usage, 2022 vs 2024
- Automakers shift to used platforms
- Younger consumers are more likely to leverage sources
- Graph 27: resources used, by age, 2024
- Men are the driving force behind usage
- Opportunities for growth among other groups
- Produce family-focused content to appeal to parents
- Graph 28: resources used, by parental status, 2024
- Research approach
- Appeal to consumers’ diligence
- Appeal to consumers’ diligence (cont.)
- Graph 29: online car purchasing approach, 2024
- Appeal to younger consumers’ need for guidance
- Graph 30: online car purchasing approach, by age, 2024
- Ways to reach consumers
- Position online car buying as a level playing field
- Graph 31: online car purchasing approach, by gender, 2024
- Be transparent to empower women in car buying
- Family and friends are a critical component of younger consumers’ purchasing
- Get creative with educational tools
- Graph 32: consumer likeliness to carry out research behaviors, by age, 2024
- Carvana highlights money-back guarantee
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Competitive strategies
- CarMax offers up-front financing
- CarMax reduces money-back guarantee window
- Carvana partners with NRG esports
- Stellantis expands SPOTiCAR to US
- Carvana deploys same-day delivery
- Carvana launches value tracker
- Opportunities
- Showcase comparison capabilities
- Position online car buying as a sustainable practice
- Continue to bridge the gap between physical and virtual research
- Highlight limited dealership interaction
- Improve the user experience of automaker websites
- Educate consumers on CPO offerings
- Highlight hybrid and electric vehicles’ availability
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Appendix
- Market definition
- Consumer research methodology
- Generations
- Abbreviations and terms
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