DIGITAL GENERATION CAR BUYERS

  • Jun 9, 2022
  •  – 2 min read

All this talk about “the digital generation” can be rather misleading. It’s not about teenagers spending days and nights in front of game consoles and mobile phones.

The real digital pioneers are 70+

Quite a few people who lived through the pioneering years of personal computers are now in their 70s. And a vast majority of today’s car buyers have used computers and other digital devices at home and work for decades. They, too, visit car dealers anonymously online, long before the salespeople realize what they are up to.

Instant insight

We are all the same: Once we get used to fast and easy access to the product information we want, we tend to reject information that requires more patience or work to find and digest. Convenience has become King, and there is no going back.

Interactive

In the early IT years, “interactive” was a keyword, now we tend to take it for granted: The very feeling of a system obeying our every command, responding instantly to whatever we want to do. Yes, we take it for granted but it is still a major reason why most of us prefer the internet to paper-based catalogs and brochures.

Life-like impressions

Most of us are naturally attracted to things of beauty, and images that reflect real life. This is one reason why our eyes are so easily drawn to movement and change. Why pictures speak louder than words. And why online video is by far the most effective way to present a product and convey a commercial message.

Engaging all our senses

So, whether 18 or 70, we are more likely to buy a car when it is presented with life-like images from every conceivable angle, with all relevant facts within easy reach. And the fact that car buying is a very emotional thing has absolutely nothing to do with age.