[Direct Stock Japan Co., Ltd.] Is “purchasing a car” no longer a thing in today’s internet-based era?
Surprising results revealed in awareness survey regarding car purchases *Direct Stock Japan Co., Ltd.*
Press release: August 26, 2024
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Is “car purchasing” no longer a thing in this era of internet-based mainstreaming? Surprising results revealed in a survey of attitudes regarding car purchasing
*In today’s world where using the internet to buy and sell cars is commonplace, a survey revealed how consumers’ image of “car buying” is changing. *
Tattered Ace Cow Cow, a Hiace purchasing specialty store operated by Direct Stock Japan Co., Ltd. (https://directstock.co.jp/
) conducted a survey on the image of “car purchasing” among 100 people who have owned a car in the past.
The company will publish a report so that the results of this survey will be useful information for the entire used car sales and purchase industry in the future.
Survey overview
– Survey target: People who live in Japan and have owned a car – Survey date: July Survey institution: In-house survey (Internet survey) – Number of people surveyed: 100 people (see pie chart below for age groups) – Research report:
https://directstock.co.jp/kuruma-shitadori/kaitori_release/
Survey target age group
20s: 16%
30s: 27%
40s: 37%
50s: 18%
Over 60s: 2%
Survey summary
■Question 1. If you are asking a company to buy your car, which are the candidates? (Multiple answers possible)
[Result]
Twenty years ago, the first place you would have consulted about buying a car would have been a new car dealer if you were changing to a new car, or a used car shop for trade-in if you were changing to a used car. However, with the passage of time, shops specializing in car purchases have become more common, and perhaps the image of a shop specializing in car purchases has become more established, with the number of responses for “car purchases” being slightly higher than for trade-ins. I did.
With the spread of the Internet, the number of online bulk appraisal services is increasing, but at this stage they are still not as good as purchasing specialty stores or trade-ins.
As expected, very few people answered the question about scrapped car buyers and dismantlers as they were not very familiar with them.
■Question 2. When choosing a company to request a car appraisal, which selection criteria do you consider important? (Multiple answers possible)
[Result]
The results for this question were very clear. When selling a car, the elements you look for in a dealer are simply “price” and “trust.”
Since nearly 80% of the respondents answered both, it would be best for purchase/trade-in companies to consider these two conditions as essential conditions for purchasing/trade-in.
On the other hand, “customer service attitude” is considered to be almost a necessary condition when it comes to restaurants etc., but when it comes to car purchases, considering that only about 30% of the people are looking for it, it is not so much. It can be considered that it is not an important factor.
Additionally, only about 15% of respondents were asked whether or not the purchase/trade-in company was a “major” company, so it was found that it had little impact on consumers’ car selling behavior. .
■Question 3. When selling a car, which action would you choose first?
[Result]
This is the result of research into the actions consumers take as the first step when selling a car.
As someone who runs a purchasing business, I expected that “telephone calls” would account for the highest percentage, but the results were surprising.
Approximately half of the people, 46%, would consider bringing their belongings directly to the vendor they are interested in. Furthermore, the results show that there are relatively few inquiries on the website or by phone to the companies of interest. What we can infer from these results is that many consumers are not very wary of purchasers or trade-in companies.
More than 10 years have passed since the rise of online bulk appraisals, but the reason for this 31% result is that many users are not that wary of car purchase specialty stores in the first place. It seems possible that you are doing so.
■Question 4. How old is your car (number of years since it was new) before you consider buying a new one?
[Result]
Approximately half, 47%, said they would consider switching within 10 years or more. Considering that a long time ago it was common sense to scrap a car after 10 years, it can be assumed that the proportion of people who continue to drive a car for 10 years or more is increasing year by year.
Let me list some possible backgrounds.
– Lack of financial leeway among the child-rearing generation (reduced frequency of switching)
– Prolonged recession
– Longer car life
– Improved resale value due to increased export demand (can be sold even if it is quite old)
– Semiconductor shortage slows supply of new cars
This trend is expected to continue to some extent, and the switching span is expected to become longer in the future.
■Question 5. What do you think about private car sales (without going through a buying agent)?
[Result]
In countries other than Japan, cars are generally bought and sold between individuals. Additionally, with the spread of the Internet, it has become easier than ever to buy and sell cars between individuals on Yahoo! Auctions and Mercari. Normally, in the case of transactions between individuals, it has the great advantage of not involving a trader and eliminating the intermediate margin, so it is expected that a large percentage of people will be positive about it.
Contrary to our expectations.
Below are some typical reasons for people who answered negatively about private sales.
– Because trouble is likely to occur.
– No trust in the trading partner
– Cars are expensive transactions, and if you have a dispute, it will likely be difficult.
– I’m worried because I don’t know if it’s properly maintained. – You have to handle procedures such as changing the name yourself. In Japan, transactions through traders are completely widespread, so there seems to be a deep-rooted negative image of transactions between individuals, such as troubles and trust issues when dealing with individuals.
Based on these results, it is difficult to predict that interpersonal transactions will continue to become widespread in Japan.
[Summary of survey results]
* People’s image of car purchase specialty stores *
:Recently, the car purchasing industry is becoming an industry where public trust is being questioned, with administrative guidance being imposed on major purchasing stores.
However, contrary to expectations, the results of this survey revealed that consumer trust in the industry as a whole has not deteriorated that much.
However, on the other hand, I learned that the criteria for choosing a purchasing specialty store is not only price, but also “trust” as important as that.
Considering the business model of purchase specialty stores, the limit on purchase prices will be approximately the same for all dealers. Therefore, the results of this survey revealed that the most important thing that purchase specialty stores must put effort into in order to acquire customers is to gain their trust.
* Changes in awareness regarding car lifespan *
:Consumers’ intentions regarding the lifespan of their cars have been changing year by year. The image of cars being scrapped after 10 years and 100,000 km is becoming a thing of the past, and cars are becoming more and more like cars that people will continue to drive for 15 to 20 years.
*Awareness regarding personal sales*
: Until a few years ago, there was a lot of talk in the car buying industry that, due to the spread of flea market sites, the share of private car buying and selling would rise in the future, putting the position of car buying companies in jeopardy. However, regardless of technological innovation, we found that the spread of private sales has not progressed at all. There is a reason behind this that is unique to Japanese people, who dislike trouble excessively. Car purchase specialty stores will continue to be an essential industry in Japan’s used car industry.
[Company Profile] Company Name: Direct Stock Japan Co., Ltd. Location: 1-1-8 Hashiramoto, Takatsuki City, Osaka Prefecture Representative: Representative Director Tsuyoshi Yamamoto
Established: December 17, 2018
URL: https://directstock.co.jp/
Business content: Used car purchase, export, media management Official qualification: Secondhand goods sales license number 622032304053 Official member store of Japan Automobile Purchasing Association (JPUC): Terms and Conditions 21KH10053