New research from Dealerweb has identified very pronounced variations in the communications methods that are preferred by consumers of different ages when interacting with dealership staff.

Dealerweb polled 1,000 motorists on their attitudes towards the car buying process and found that 52% of car buyers between the ages of 18 and 34 said they favour electronic means of contact with car dealers – via messaging apps, SMS, email and social media – compared to just 24% of buyers over the age of 55.

The data suggests that car dealers need to consider greater use of electronic communications to reach a more digital-savvy generation of car buyers, especially when responding to web-generated enquiries. While 27% of motorists in the 18-to-34 age group are happy to speak to dealers by phone, more than half would prefer to communicate with dealers via text, email or social media.

Preference for email communication is noticeably higher among younger car buyers, with 42% of under-35s favouring emails over other forms of communication, compared to just 21% of buyers over the age of 55.

Online enquiries driving uplift in leads in 2017 Dealerweb recently carried out research across its customer network of more than 200 UK dealers, which indicated a 16% increase in overall enquiries during the first quarter of 2017. Enquiries from online sources accounted for the entirety of this growth, increasing by 21% over the same period in 2016, while the number of physical walk-in enquiries remained unchanged.

Martin Hill, Managing Director at Dealerweb commented: “Dealers are witnessing dramatic growth in the number of web-based customer enquiries, representing a clear shift in consumer behaviour. Younger car buyers – ‘digital natives’ – have grown up using electronic forms of communication, and appear more comfortable than older buyers using them for interaction with car dealers. This trend is only likely to accelerate, and the most effective sales teams in the coming years will be those who are more open-minded about using the latest digital tools to engage with prospective buyers.”