Millennials Like Car Dealerships, Hate Sales People: Study

According to a recent study, car buyers between the ages of 16-32 actually enjoy visiting dealership lots more than older generations, though they dislike dealing with car salesmen. 

This may come as a surprise considering that millennials are more inclined to be tech-savvy compared to older shoppers. Still, the study revealed that Generation Y buyers visited an average of 3.1 dealerships before purchasing their vehicle, compared to slightly older Gen X shoppers, which visited an average of 2.5 dealers.

Of course one could argue that older shoppers have gone through the experience before, and chances are they’re revisiting dealerships that they’ve dealt with in the past. Not to mention having gone through the process, they know what to expect with car salespeople.

The survey also revealed that millennials are more thorough with their research online with making trips to the dealership a key part of the shopping journey. But most notably, the study shows that after the car-buying experience, those Gen Y shoppers are more likely to avoid interacting with salespeople in the future. 56 percent of those surveyed said exactly that vs. 49 percent from Gen X shoppers and 37 percent for baby boomers.

Most millennials walk into dealerships expecting a laid-back experience, similar to what you’d find in today’s Apple Store. And as we all know, having shopped for vehicles in the past, buying a car isn’t exactly like buying an iPad in terms of customer service.

Millennials currently make up 75 million of the U.S. population and purchased 25 percent of all vehicles last year.

[Source: Automotive News]