Survey reveals that millennials prefer to complete vehicle purchases online

In a recent onepoll™ survey commissioned by FairSquare, UK consumers were asked for their opinions on their experiences when buying a car on finance.

The results show a clear shift in consumer preferences from retail to e-commerce.

Surprisingly, it’s not only younger generations who prefer to shop online – the over 55s are also transferring their habits online.

44% of Millennials and 32% of the older generations would rather chose an online platform for browsing and comparing cars and finance options, rather than go to a dealership.

UK buyers, across all age groups have expressed dissatisfaction and lack of trust when it comes to buying a car and selecting finance products.

With e-commerce services soaring in other sectors, the results outline a strong demand for an online one-stop-shop for buying and financing cars. FairSquare – an all-new independent, simple and transparent website is the response to those demands.

Key findings of the survey are as follows:

• More than three-quarters of all cars bought in the UK are bought with finance products
• 37% of all surveyed would consider buying their next car online – up from 25% in 2016.
• This rises to 62.8% if there was a 14-day money-back guarantee
• The most popular of all finance products purchased in the UK are PCP and HP car loans –with 73.8% of all respondents having purchased either PCP (25.1%) or HP (48.7%)products in the past. Over 55s almost twice as likely to buy HP than PCP, and the 18-34 year olds almost twice as likely to by PCP than HP
• More than half (51.3%) have no idea what their personal credit score is. 63.6% of the over 55s don’t know their credit score, with 38% not knowing theirs
• Nearly 60% of Millennials would be interested in a one-stop online shop for cars and finance (and comparisons) if such a thing existed, and 40% of the older generations would also consider it

The least favourite elements of car buying were listed as follows:

• Visiting dealerships and forecourts
• Filling out lengthy requests for personal information and having to repeat the process with each different provider
• Comparing prices of the same vehicle and finance offers from different retailers
• Feeling pressurised into a sale without time to properly consider
• Feeling that the finance offered may not be the best but one that pays the supplier the greatest commission
• Inspecting used vehicles

More than half of those surveyed would prefer a simple service, without sales jargon and one single application that allows them to buy their next vehicle securely online.

Paul Bartley, CEO of FairSquare, says: “These results give us an even clearer understanding of the fact that more and more people are willing to commit to big purchases online. Whether it’s the lack of understanding or time, or purely the feeling of risk, UK customers are looking for new ways to shop and finance something as significant as their new vehicles.”