How digital media is influencing car buying behavior in India
Google & Kantar TNS recently released a survey exploring car buying behavior of Indians. The report highlights several key insights regarding an Indian car buyer’s mindset. Digital media is not just a tool to search & compare cars, but it’s becoming an influential tool in the purchase process.
Take a glance at below highlights from the report:
- 89% of all car purchases were influenced by digital media.
- 96% car buyers uses Search during their purchase journey.
What do they search?
Price, vehicle size, fuel efficiency, interior, brand reputation, driving experience, reviews, and financing options
Influence of video:
- 80% of car buyers have used / watched online video during their purchase journey.
- Watch time for Auto related videos increased by 225% over last year.
- 79% car buyers took an action (Such as downloading brochure, went for test drive, visited a showroom etc.) after watching a video.
- Number of dealership visits have reduced to two, from four visits last year – suggesting strong dependence on digital media to consume information.
- 68% car buyers are not sure of which car they want to buy when they begin the search. Which means, Digital has strong influence to play during the purchase journey.
- 81% said that videos introduced a new option in their consideration set which they did not consider earlier
- 75% buyers accepted the fact that an online video changed their perception about a car manufacturer.
What kind of videos they watch?
- 30% have seen videos related to third party car reviews / test drives / comparison tests
- 41% have checked vehicle safety test videos
- 42% respondents saw commercial advertisement
- 37% said they saw interior / exterior walk-through video
- 38% users were interested in vehicle performance related videos
- 41% saw videos related to features & technology of vehicle
- 33% respondents saw customer reviews & testimonials videos
- 27% consumed augmented reality / virtual reality content
What does these numbers tell us?
It’s time marketers think beyond generic TVCs when it comes to automobiles. A holistic customer experience enabling users to virtually experience all features of car, a AR / VR powered virtual tour & experiential content (reviews by experts, feature tests etc.) will drive better engagement from car buyers. Word of mouth spreading from journalists & reviewers’ own video blogs will carry strong influence on buyers.
Today’s buyer doesn’t want to go for multiple dealer visits. Focussing on better Customer Experience (CX) across digital platforms & enabling superior content through videos – is the mantra for success. Days are not far when we will see more car purchases happening online!
If you are not on a video bandwagon yet, it’s time you plan a successful video strategy for your brand. Automobile is not just one segment driving video consumption – video phenomena is across all genres. Do you want to prepare a video marketing strategy for your brand? Connect with us!
