• eMarketer, Friday, February 3, 2006 11:30 AM

New research shows that first-time car buyers turn to the Internet more than any other form of mass media to conduct their research prior to buying a new vehicle. A study by the Polk Center for Automotive Studies revealed that 35 percent of respondents said they used the Internet as their primary informational tool, with television coming in a far distant second at 8.2 percent. Other media followed, such as magazines (4.4 percent), newspaper (3.6 percent) and radio (1.1 percent). The report noted that since first-time buyers tend to be technology-savvy young people, the results were not overly surprising. "First-time buyers' dependence on Web-based media validates the need for an aggressive interactive strategy to court them on the manufacturer and retail level,'" said Lonnie Miller, managing director for the Polk Center for Automotive Studies. "The Internet's relevance in the 18- to 30-year age group has reached critical mass and is completely reconfiguring how car companies need to reach out to first-time buyers."

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