75% new car buyers do online research before purchase: Study

Three out of four new car customers research on Internet prior to the purchase, while 43 per cent make the choice online itself even before their first visit to a dealer, according to a study.
As per the study by BCG-CarDekho, about 42 per cent of all car buyers consider the Internet as the primary source of information for researching and shortlisting cars.
Moreover, newer car models see a disproportionately high digital traffic of around 53 per cent in comparison to their market share of around 37 per cent, it added.
Commenting on the findings, Boston Consulting Group India Partner and Managing Director Sharad Verma said digital medium is fundamentally changing the consumer journey in the automobile segment.

"This is going to increase further as consumers become more mature on Internet. The plethora of consumer data which this is generating presents very interesting innovation opportunities to auto players," he added.
The study said new car buyers are increasingly straddling between online and offline channels in the purchase process. Such a development is pushing various players in the automotive industry to remodel their strategies.

"Change in consumer preference, coupled with the availability of huge data about the consumer, requires original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to challenge their conventional approach," it added.
With expanding digital influence on the purchase journey and increasing expectations of customers, there is a need for OEMs to step up on what they are offering on their digital platforms, the study said.

The findings are based on data analytics on CarDekho platform data, a survey covering around 1,200 respondents pan India and past proprietary researches conducted by BCG and CarDekho, it added.