Car market: by 2020 one in three cars will be bought online

The customer is further than the market: according to the "Autokäuferstudie Deutschland 2016" (Car Buyers' Study Germany 2016), written by A.T. Kearney, 27 percent of German car buyers are already willing to buy their next car online, and this figure is already over a quarter. Looking a few years ahead, this figure is expected to rise to a third of all vehicles (which would correspond to a volume of around 7.6 million vehicles).

The management consultancy divides the German market into five types of buyers, which vary in their demographic factors, interests, ideas and preferences and thus react differently to the offers of the digital transformation or are willing to use them.

New customer groups mean new tasks

The groups "Analogue" (18%) and "Involved traditionalist" (21%) show little or no willingness to buy on the Internet. They prefer intensive advice from the dealers and in some cases do not use the Internet at all for research before buying. A large part of this group is new car buyers and / or 50-70 or over 70 years old.

The largest group is the "Pragmatic Mainstream" with 26 percent of all buyers. People of this type are often under 40 and have a pronounced price awareness. Supported by regular use of various online media, this group shows a general willingness to buy on the Internet.

The two younger groups are very different in their behaviour and orientation and are digitally open-minded. The "digital benefit-oriented" (12 percent) and "digital families" (23 percent) already often buy online today and are price-oriented. Online media are used to obtain information and for (price) comparisons. Particularly interesting for the car trade: In these two target groups, 60 percent are already prepared to buy their next car online.

Consider new distribution options

"The digital transformation confronts retailers and manufacturers alike with complex task constructs. In order to keep the balance and to take into account not only established customer groups but also new buyer profiles, we give car dealerships food for thought and help them to make themselves fit for the demands of new generations of buyers with simple structures. sums up Torben Ullmann, managing director of pixelconcept. "As a dealer, you can no longer wait for impulses from the big manufacturers alone. If you want to create and use a competitive advantage, you have to become active yourself and also consider new sales variants in a future-oriented way".

Background

The data used was collected by TNS Infratest on behalf of A.T. Kearney as part of the "Car Buyers' Study Germany 2016". A total of 2,500 people aged 18 and over were questioned about their past and future car buying behavior.