New Survey Finds One Third of Consumers Would Consider Buying a House or a Car Directly From Their Smartphone

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - August 18, 2016) - Roadster, the leader in eCommerce solutions for car buying and leasing, today announced the results of a survey examining consumer perception around shopping for big ticket items on mobile devices. While there seems to be a pervasive belief that consumers will only use their smartphones to shop for daily items, Roadster's survey, conducted in partnership with Survata, revealed the opposite, with almost one third of people stating that they would consider buying a house or car directly from their mobile device.

The survey, which polled 1185 consumers, found men to be particularly amenable to the idea, with 41 percent of male respondents stating they would consider purchasing a big ticket item directly from their phone versus 21 percent of women. It also found that consumers that fell within income brackets of $150,000 or more would be more likely to transact online. In addition, the survey furthered that geographic location had no bearing on consumer perception, with people outside of tech specific cities stating that they too would be open to purchasing a big ticket item directly from their mobile device.

"It's clear from the results of our survey that consumers are open to new ways of shopping for big ticket items," said Andy Moss, CEO of Roadster. "With Roadster, we have incorporated some of the most cutting edge ecommerce technologies into car shopping, to make car buying as easy as buying anything else online. On Roadster.com and our partner dealer sites, consumers can now find a car they like on their mobile device, purchase it directly with our ecommerce technology, and have it delivered to their doorstep, sometimes even the same day. It's a hassle free approach that is both needed and welcomed."

According to the survey, consumers have been clamoring for the automotive industry to adopt a variety of features of online shopping into the car buying experience; with 45 percent of consumers wishing the industry would introduce free delivery, followed by 45 percent wanting free returns and 44 percent wanting fixed pricing. Consumers also stated that they would consider bringing even further aspects of the car buying process online, and cited their warranty selection (31 percent), price negotiation (31 percent) and service plans (27 percent) as being top areas of interest.

Even those consumers who were not instantly on board with purchasing a big ticket item from their smartphones said they would reconsider if they knew that there were significant savings involved. According to respondents, 43 percent of consumers expected to save $2,000 dollars or more by purchasing a car on their smartphone versus going to the dealership and 31 percent believed they would save three to four hours by conducting the transaction online.

Although the findings of the survey showcase consumer willingness to purchase big ticket items on their smartphones, it still points to the importance of a test-drive, with with 86 percent of consumers stating that they still want to test-drive a car before purchase.

About Roadster
Roadster is an eCommerce platform that enables hassle-free car buying 100% online through Roadster.com and partner dealer websites. Roadster dramatically improves the car buying process, significantly reducing dealership sales costs while ensuring buyers get a fair and transparent deal and save time. With unmatched industry expertise and complete knowledge of market pricing, lease and finance rates, and incentives and rebates, Roadster finally makes online car shopping a reality. Roadster is based in Palo Alto, CA and was founded in late 2013. For more information, please visit https://roadster.com.