People Love Buying Cars Online, Except for One Thing
Walking into a car dealership can make you feel like a small, tasty fish that’s found itself thrown into a shark tank. That’s not the only way to buy a car, though. Half of car purchasers surveyed by Progressive in January 2022 bought their cars online within the past two years.
The pandemic caused a boom in car purchasing, as people moved from cities to suburbs and avoided public transportation and ride-share services. But a chip shortage meant fewer cars were available, which led to dealerships with very little inventory. Together, these factors fueled online car buying.
Unsurprisingly, the lack of in-person upsell proved popular: 78% of survey respondents told Progressive buying a car online was a highly satisfying experience. Only 58% of those who purchased from a dealership rated their experience the same. Though a legal tangle makes it impossible for auto manufacturers to sell directly to consumers in all 50 states, some (including Ford, Nissan, Toyota, and Volvo) have created platforms that let people purchase vehicles online through dealerships. There are also lots of online marketplaces that serve as virtual dealerships for cars of all makes and models.
Carvana is the top way people purchased a car online (21%), followed by Cars.com (13%), CarMax (12%), dealership websites (11%), Carfax (10%), Autotrader (6%), and Vroom (6%).
Buying a car online has been embraced mainly by those ages 18 to 24, with 77% of survey respondents in that age group reporting it was the way they acquired their vehicle. The younger the customer, the more likely they were to make their car purchase online. Seventy-four percent of those ages 25 to 40 had done so, 53% of those ages 41 to 56, 20% of those ages 57 to 66, and and 21% of
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