Buying a car these days is a very expensive proposition even for Baby Boomers and Veterans who have had some time to amassed some wealth. These consumer groups have also typically embraced the car dealership as a venue of choice for buying a car. Not so for Generation X, Generation Y (or Millennials) and Generation Z (or Digital Natives).
These newer generations have been brought up using computers and Ipods. They don’t take road maps on trips, instead relying on GPS tracking or their cell phone to call for directions. Their natural tendency when buying a car is to do their research on the Internet and locate the vehicle on the Internet, sometimes even completing the sale on the Internet all without once seeing the car in person in some cases. They are not frequently seen at car dealerships.
How Dealerships Can Attract Younger Buyers
The problem for car dealerships is how to attract these elusive buyers who are not motivated by corporate or brand loyalty or status symbols. The car dealership needs to understand how to attract these younger generations if they want to profit. They have been raised with technology and it is important to them. They like gadgets and little luxuries such as web-enabled computers on the showroom floor and touch screens where they can customize a car to their liking. They want to see the screen that the salesman is looking at instead of waiting for him to run back and forth to his boss. According to a recent Microsoft commissioned survey, 67% consider GPS tracking to be vital for their cars and they want it to come standard along with items such as a port for their music players and software to track their fuel consumption.
Car dealerships would be wise to study the characteristics of the younger population and make their showrooms more technologically savvy and the buying process more transparent. GPS tracking and other technology as standard equipment will be what drives sales in this new demographic. Encouraging these new generations to try a new, improved car buying experience could mean the difference for future sales.
Article Written by Greg Bartlett
