Thus the pandemic has changed the way people buy cars online – Corriere.it

A year has now passed since the beginning of the pandemic and it is certain, as Mario Draghi says, that “Getting out of the pandemic will not be like turning the light back on”. So when the Covid-19 infection is behind us (hopefully soon) we will face a changed reality that, during these long and terrible months, has evolved before our eyes. Just think about how the way of working is changing after the experiences of “smart working”. And then social distancing has changed the way we relate to others. And, finally, the increasingly complex and complicated economic situation has affected and will also affect the different way of managing our consumption, our budget and our savings. And the automotive world is no exception.

For example, those who need to change cars today choose payment solutions that are solved in a short time. The loan with many installments, the dealers tell us, is perceived by customers as risky because they no longer have the certainty of their future economic status. It is the consequence of this choice that many opt for a used car that costs less and maybe you can pay with the money in your account. Subito.it (e-commerce platform with over 13 million unique monthly users) has published a research, carried out between spring 2020 and January 2021, which investigates how the behavior of those who changed cars has evolved in this period using the site immediately.it. In addition, this survey is not a precise and static photograph, but having taken into consideration the data collected in three different moments (at the end of the first lock down, after the ephemeral recovery of summer 2020 and last January) it becomes a sort of timelapse that records the becoming of the national mood. If almost 60% of the interviewees stated in the three surveys that the pandemic has changed the way of being when you have to buy something important (and the car an important expense), the lengthening of the times for the purchase decision (over 90% in the first and third surveys, to 88% in that of last summer) had a change over time in the reason for the delay: in the first survey in May 2020 and in September the fears were given by general uncertainty, in January the fear focused above all on the future uncertainty of one’s financial situation.

Hence the decision of many who had to change the car to choose from used ones. Andrea Volont (Head of automotive at Subito.it) explains that this contingency can also be seen on the number of used car offers posted on the site. Yes, in fact, from 380/370 thousand to 340 thousand and more the time to sell that car decreased drastically. Good for Immediately and also for those who used to sell, due to this growth of the market it collides with a decrease in “raw material”: in this period there is a shortage of cars, in fact, used cars from rent a car are missing. one of the major sources of supply on the market. Companies that rent in the short term, due to a stop to tourism, have slowed down the registrations of new vehicles so that the “change” of car fleets has stopped. The other evidence of the Subito survey is the importance of the network in the choice and also in the purchase of the car (used or new, little changes).

The web has become essential for the commercial part and it also proved to be a playful means, useful for “escaping” (and for dreaming with the computer on) from the boredom of the lock down and from the closure of cinemas, theaters and restaurants. Thus the digitization process of the “custumer journey” is consolidated and only the test drive is done in person (even if there are those who would like to find the car to try out at home). Not only that, but, favored by social distancing and the consequent widespread fear of “risky” interpersonal relationships, also the definition of the price, the negotiation of a possible loan, even the evaluation of the used to give in exchange and finally the purchase move, as far as possible, on the network. And this emerges not only from Subito’s research, but also confirmed by the annual report on mobility drawn up by the Arval Italia Observatory. For Arval (the branch of BNP Paribas that deals with long-term car rental), 80% of the Italians interviewed and involved in the survey of the French multinational said that they use the web during their choice and purchase process of the car.