Sri Lankans shift towards online car sales
View(s):Sri Lanka’s online retail websites are paving the way for a wider sales path for new and used vehicles providing necessary details for increasing numbers of computer savvy local buyers, mostly new rich youths, a report released by a car classifieds site revealed.
Many customers are browsing the web to select vehicles of their choice before visiting dealer show rooms. They have found online searching for vehicles more efficient and effective than traveling from showroom to showroom in search of a vehicle, Carmudi Lanka said in its latest report on online automotive industry.
According to this report, over 30 per cent of car buyers were turning to Internet and 10 per cent of car buyers to dealer sites when searching for cars. 60 per cent of car buyers are still using offline media such as newspaper classified as a source of information when searching for a car, the report disclosed. This proves that offline media such as newspaper classifieds are highly used in the country as a source for buyers.
Despite Sri Lankan car dealers getting more and more digital when advertising their listings with 40 per cent of car dealers are now primarily focused on advertising their car listings online, 60 per cent of car dealers are also still using focusing their listings on offline media such as newspaper classifieds.
“41 per cent YoY automobile sector search query growth is a fantastic indicator of the potential within the Sri Lankan market, Carmudi said adding that even though data shows that a majority of Sri Lankans use offline mediums to source information historically, we see that online sources are also another stop before a complete buying decision is made”.
It said: “We will see a shift in this situation over the next couple of years, looking at online usage rates, where the online medium will be a clear front runner when looking for a car to buy.” The motor industry in Sri Lanka has witnessed a number of changes in recent years. Prices fell sharply recently due to cutback of duty charges, which resulted in a surge of vehicle imports.
The Carmudi study found that 70 per cent of car dealers in Sri Lanka reported an increase in car sales over the past 12 months due to the changing economic climate, while 20 per cent of car dealers surveyed reported a decrease. The reductions up to Rs. 300,000 for the price of vehicles with 1000cc or less engine have revived the sluggish attitude of the overall motor sector and provided a positive impact for all motor sector players, the report said.