Auto industry embracing buy from home
As car use surges, the Australian auto industry is taking car shopping into the homeNew and used car sellers are ramping up ‘buy from home’ services in the face of greater demand for private cars and lockdowns across much of Australia.
According to carsales’ own data, there are now more than 50,000 cars for sale on carsales.com.au that offer a ‘home test drive’ service and over 35,000 that present a full ‘buy from home’ opportunity .
Australian new and used car dealers quickly embraced the concept of taking cars to their customers in the first COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020.
For example, carsales launched ‘Badges’ which highlighted ‘buy from home’ offers in April 2020.
Now, with an extra 12 months or so of experience, the retail arm of the auto industry has expanded its home car shopping opportunities.
“There were some dealers that moved quickly in 2020 but in 12 months ‘buy from home’ and ‘at home’ purchasing and test drive opportunities have progressed to be almost a given,” carsales Executive Director – Dealer, Michael Holmes, commented.
“Many people want the security of buying from a dealer. Knowing they can arrange an inspection and test drive at home is giving consumers more confidence. That’s translating to sales which in turn is seeing smart dealers further expanding their ‘at home’ services,” Holmes explained.
“Some of these can help consumers even in the early stages of purchasing. For example, right now carsales has almost 56,000 cars on which dealers are offering video calls or tours. Given some of the restrictions currently, it’s great to see how quickly the industry and buyers have embraced the technology and the change,” Holmes stated.
The showroom to loungeroom pivot comes at a time when private car usage has surged to its highest level since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A survey of transport preferences among more than 3290 carsales users, conducted from July 27 to August 2, 2021, showed that 39 per cent of respondents ‘only used their car’ and 43 per cent ‘mostly used their car’.
At the same time the study suggested public transport usage is at its lowest since the beginning of the pandemic.
The study is the third in a series conducted by carsales. Others were completed in April 2020 and July 2020. The latest percentages show usage substantially higher than previously, with ‘mostly use’ jumping from 26 to 43 per cent.
It’s no surprise, then, that during the course of the pandemic, car purchase intentions have increased among those who do not own cars, with around one third now reporting more urgency to purchase.
Equally unsurprising is the fact that online is playing an even greater role now for researching vehicles.
Of those surveyed, 52 per cent reported they are doing more researching online – an increase of 12 percentage points since July 2020.
Related: Try it now.
Tags
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
