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- US Shopping for a Car Online Market Report 2024
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
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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)
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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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