The typical car buyer was happier with their vehicle purchases during 2023 than they were during 2021 or 2022 according to a new study, though car buying satisfaction remains below the high point reached in 2020, the data indicates.
The yearly Car Buyer Journey Study by Cox Automotive suggests several reasons for rising auto purchaser positivity during 2023, including larger, more varied inventories and increasing discounts alongside several other factors.
Among the key trends noted by the study is the fact that most car buyers have above-average income, regardless of whether they are in the market for a new vehicle or a used one. Average income for a household purchasing a used car was $96,000, while new-car buyers raked in $115,000 on average, versus an average U.S. median household income of $67,521 for 2023.
Household income climbed even higher for EV purchasers, with an electric car buyer earning an average of $140,000, more than twice the median. More auto purchasers looked for used cars, while people getting a second car accounted for a greater percentage of sales than in previous years, with a 36 percent year-over-year rise to 15 percent of purchases.
Another attitude shift, ascribed to the COVID-19 pandemic, is a return to people wanting actual car ownership rather than simply availability of transport. Just 57 percent of consumers thought car ownership was necessary back in 2019 before the pandemic struck, while the latest figures show a solid majority, 65 percent, now feel outright ownership is a necessity.
Satisfaction with buying rose from 61 percent in 2022 to 69 percent overall in 2023, with purchasers of new vehicles reporting 73 percent satisfaction and used vehicles 68 percent satisfaction.
Contrary to expectations, which Cox research VP Isabelle Helms describes as “an often-cited narrative that suggests going to a car dealer is worse than a root canal,” the typical 2023 car buyer enjoyed their dealership experience. A whopping 79 percent of new-car purchasers averred that they were “highly satisfied” with the brick-and-mortar dealership experience.
Omnichannel marketing and information that worked online searching and fact-finding into the process helped boost this feeling. Out of all vehicles purchased, 50 percent were bought in-person only at a dealership, 43 percent used a blend of online and brick-and-mortar purchasing, and only 7 percent were exclusively online, highlighting the ongoing necessity of physical dealerships for most automakers.
Senior research manager for Cox Vanessa Ton highlighted these factors, remarking “year after year, our studies suggest that consumers are not pursuing an entirely digital experience.” The typical car buyer, she added, likes to start the purchase at home, then visit the dealer lot to examine the vehicle and test-drive it before buying. She concluded that the omnichannel method has proven “more efficient for everyone involved and delivers happier buyers as well.”
Cox also notes that shorter purchasing times and falling prices due to incentives are helping make car buyers more positive about their purchases. In 2022 54 percent of purchasers paid more than they expected, down to 49 percent in 2023, while the process took about an hour less for both used and new cars than in the previous year.
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Comments
Big deal.
Anybody can sell you a car.
The “Service experience” is where lasting customer loyalty is created and nurtured.
I buy the vehicle and never return to the dealer except for recalls and warranty issues. My 2012 Silverado that I purchased new has only been back to the dealer once for the airbag recall.
I don’t beloved that study when dealers were regularly abusing buyers with huge markups.
To get back to prepandemic levels, we’ll need MUCH bigger discounts (right now, most are leaning on low interest rates but that’s hardly enough) and/or price drops.