Mazda dealers in the UK will introduce a range
of online interactive tools, citing survey figures which show just
over half of all buyers shop online despite many customers finding
online car research ‘a minefield.’
According to the Interactive Media Survey by
Mindshare, 51.1% of shoppers made purchases over the internet in
2010, prompting Mazda to introduce a public website template for
dealers to buy into.
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The website will include sales and marketing
tools for retailers and customers, including the purchase of parts
and accessories and a used vehicle stock-checker for the brand.
The manufacturers’ interactive aims also
stretch to mobile phones, as Claire Andrews, Mazda marketing
director, explains: “About one in five customers use a mobile phone
when in the showroom to check prices, whether they are buying an
accessory or a used car.
“More importantly, one in three searches on a
smart phone are local [according to Google], so the significance of
dealer mobile sites has never been stronger.”
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By GlobalDataAlthough such a move chimes with previous
research by Alphera showing 52% of customers would consider buying
a car through online channels, only 4% said they would definitely
consider it.
While more customers are using the web as a
source of car market information, the variety of information
available was “a
minefield for the layperson,” according to Alphera sales
manager Kirk Franks.
Two-thirds of car customers surveyed were
becoming more cautious in their purchases and almost the same
number looked to their car dealer as the primary source of
information on products, a position Mazda’s new tools may be
well-placed to assist.
However, nearly a fifth of customers decide on
their car purchase after less than a week’s web research, less than
one-in-thirty take more than six months to decide, and just over a
quarter make finance the most important part of their online
research, according to Alphera.
Price comparison
Regarding car finance in particular,
research by Pinehearst Digital published in September this
year, highlighted the extent to which car manufacturers are losing
out to online brokers and ‘car supermarkets’ in online
searches.
Almost half of all clicks on links returned
from 754 key search terms sent potential buyers to brokers or price
comparison websites, with the 10 most-visited sites accounting for
half of all links returned, and not a single manufacturer among
them.
richard.brown@vrlfinancialnews.com
