• by Colin Kirkland , October 2, 2024

Over the past year, there has been an increase in Americans willing to buy a car online, from 49% in 2023 to 57% in 2024, according to a new automotive survey conducted by digital marketing agency Adtaxi.

Now more than ever, the company suggests, Americans are turning to social media to shop for their next vehicle.

“New vehicle shopping has evolved significantly over the years, especially with the advent of the internet and social media,” says Adtaxi's Director of Research Murray Woronoff.

“Traditionally, car buyers relied heavily on dealership visits, word-of-mouth recommendations, and print advertisements,” Woronoff adds. “However, the digital age has revolutionized this process.”

Based on Adtaxi's findings, 45% of Americans have expressed a willingness to purchase their next vehicle through social media platforms, highlighting a potential shift toward these channels as critical touchpoints in the automotive buying journey.

Almost 70% of the 1,021 adults surveyed indicated that they would at least consider making their next automotive purchase on leading social platforms like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, with recent purchasers showing an increasing openness to alternative buying channels. Forty-eight percent were willing to buy directly from a manufacturer's website, 35% from digital car-buying services, and 15% from online marketplaces like CarMax.

Among the major social-media platforms, Adtaxi found that Facebook is the most influential when it comes to searching for new or leased vehicles -- cited by 38% of total respondents and 53% of recent purchasers.

Following Facebook, in order of most influential automotive buying platforms, is Instagram, YouTube, then TikTok.

Adtaxi notes, however, that this ranking shifts when taking different demographics into account. For example, TikTok's influence nearly triples among adults ages 18-29, illustrating the short-form video platform's increasing impact on younger car buyers.

When shopping for a new vehicle, 61% of respondents said reviews and recommendations on social platforms were most persuasive, after ads (55%), content from brands or dealerships (45%), and online discussions (34%). Recent buyers, however, reported feeling more influenced by ads (67%), ranking ads higher than reviews and recommendations (63%).

Only 10% of respondents reported being unaffected by social content when looking to purchase a car.

For most respondents (70%), though, social content was especially effective during the awareness stage, where they explored different brands and models of car, while 60% valued social media during the consideration phase and the decision-making stage.

“Currently, 44% of Americans believe that social is the most influential media when it comes to new vehicles - and this jumps to 64% for those who actually made a purchase over the past 12 months,” says Woronoff. “We anticipate the influence of social media to increase moving forward.”