So, the UK motor industry is buzzing with all of the announcements prior to the London Motorshow. For those who have managed to avoid the millions of pounds spent in pre-event advertising, the London International Motorshow is the UK motor industry’s biennial opportunity to show its wares to the audience of car buyers. Following Press Day next Tuesday, it’s open until Sunday 3 August.
But how many car buyers are really there? Two years ago, the Docklands-based show drew over 400,000 people in its ten days of opening. Not a bad number some might argue but not a patch on the million-plus visitors that some other international shows achieve. But in this day and age, how much of the buying process is geared around actually seeing and feeling a car at a show?
Google would argue not a lot. At a recent presentation, they confirmed that their research suggests that 43 per cent of buyers now reach their car purchase decision by online research alone. And based on the ever increasing use of the internet, this trend can only increase too. Using this logic, it will only be a couple of years before more buyers than not select the car they want to buy without ever leaving their PC.
If this is the case, one could argue that in a few years time, this biennial event should be held in Second Life to attract the majority of new car buyers. As interesting as this sounds to a New Media professional, I’m not entirely convinced that the world is quite ready for that just yet.
Interested in the Motorshow? Why not subscribe or call back next week for a view from Press Day.
