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Social Media A Washout During Millennials Car-Buying Journey (Duh!)


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Washington DC August 13, 2014; The AIADA online newsletter reported that Automotive News wrote that despite years of hype by automakers and dealers, social media remain a non-starter for car shopping. Just 1 percent of car buyers use social sites to shop for a vehicle, according to an AutoTrader.com survey.

Even millennials, those young people between the ages of 18 and 34 attracted to social media, barely use sites such as Facebook and Twitter for car shopping, said Isabelle Helms, vice president of research and market intelligence for AutoTrader.com.

Only 5 percent of millennials surveyed said they used social media to shop for vehicles, the study showed. “Millennials are apathetic about whether auto Web sites or brands have a social presence,” Helms said. She added that 78 percent of millennials in the study said their attitude toward a car brand would not change if the brand had a social networking presence.

Helms said social media is used to network with friends, not to shop for cars. AutoTrader.com’s study was conducted by IHS Automotive between December and February. A total of 1,900 car buyers within the past year were surveyed, including about 300 millennials. For more on how millennials shop for vehicles, click here.