The majority of consumers are concerned about visiting dealerships when the lockdown is lifted.
That’s the conclusion of a survey carried out by Auto Trader in mid-April.
It found that while 82% of consumers researching their next car are looking to buy now or as soon as they’re able to make a transaction, more than three quarters (76%) have expressed concern of visiting a dealership in person once the current restrictions have been lifted.
When asked about whether they’d be interested in buying a car if a home delivery service was an option, only 7% of consumers said they would.
The survey found that nearly one in four (24%) of the 1,051 people asked about their car buying behaviour said they’d ‘definitely’ be happy to return to a normal interaction with a retailer as soon as the restrictions have been lifted, three in four (76%) displayed some uncertainty, and one in five (20%) are actively looking to avoid it.
Auto Trader director of commercial products, Karolina Edwards-Smajda, said: “We’re confident the appetite to purchase remains, however our research highlights that for most consumers, their expectation of a retailing experience will be vastly different to what it was pre-lockdown.
“Retailers must use this time to plan how they can implement measures that enable their customers to buy a car safely and which comply to the strict guidance set out by the government. They must be retail ready for when the restrictions lift – failure to do so will put them at a huge disadvantage to those businesses that have been able to adapt to the new retail landscape we are now faced with.”
When asked about whether they’d be interested in buying a car if a home delivery service was an option, only 7% of consumers said they would.