What you need to know
Vehicle sales are slowing; average vehicle prices are increasing and consumers showing reticence toward the car purchasing process. Consumers need more than aggressive pricing and TV commercials to entice them into purchasing their next vehicle. Consumers currently view the car purchasing process as a necessary evil they must be subjected to in order to get a vehicle. Automakers and auto retailers must undergo a transformation to shake negative consumer sentiment. While the car purchasing process has not changed significantly in recent years, consumers have. They tolerate the current process because they feel they have no other options in terms of where to purchase from; however, as younger generations grow into their purchasing power, they might look to start ups and other disrupters that will give them the experience they seek.
Definition
This Report builds on the analysis presented in Mintel’s Car Purchasing Process – US, June 2018 and Car Purchasing Process – US, May 2017. Mintel defines car purchasing as the act or the intended act of buying a new, used or CPO (certified pre-owned) vehicle.
This Report includes all light vehicles, which includes but is not limited to sedans, coupes, station wagons, pickup trucks, vans, minivans, crossover utility vehicles and SUVs (sport utility vehicles).
Fleet sales are included in Market Size sales figures, but are excluded from the scope of this Report.
Online Auto Retailers – auto retailers that are born from the internet, despite potentially having a brick and mortar location. Examples include Cars.com, CarMax and TrueCar, where consumers can engage in interactive ways to research their vehicles prior to visiting a physical location.
Funtervention – a “fun” intervention, meaning the car purchasing process lacks the excitement typically associated with other retail purchases and this aspect of the industry needs to liven up.
