Nearly 50 per cent of buyers research online before arriving at the dealership to purchase a car, a study by Neilsen, on behalf of Google India, carried out across car showrooms in eight major metros has revealed.
Findings state that of the 50 per cent respondents who went online, 42 per cent said they used a search engine (across all engines) as the first source of information. This was followed by opinions of friends and relatives (47 per cent), the study claimed.
Respondents of the survey further added that they used the web to research and compare prices, watch online videos and find images, do competitive analysis, find dealer contacts and read both expert and user reviews.
Over 56 per cent of the buyers also choose to watch videos online as part of their research, with over 48 per cent rating YouTube as an important source.
Of those who researched online, nearly half of them changed their choice of brands after uncovering new information on the web, the study said.
According to the survey, queries relating to SUVs grew the fastest at a year-on-year- basis, followed by premium cars, sedans, luxury cars and hatchback.
“This offline study substantiates the growing number of auto-related searches we’ve seen on Google search in India. Auto is among the fastest growing vertical in terms of query volumes on Google,” Mr Rajan Anandan, V-P & Managing Director of Google India, said according to a release.