Who Do You Trust (When Buying a Car)?

Harris Interactive reports that, overall, one in five US adults (19%) describe themselves as either "very" or "extremely knowledgeable" about vehicles. These "Influentials" are much more likely than "Non-influential" ordinary consumers to say they are more likely to talk to other knowledgeable people about the vehicles they are considering.

Males (82%) dominate the Influentials. The average age of Influentials is 45, which is in line with Non-influentials. Influentials have higher incomes, with more than half (53%) earning $75,000 or more compared to 40 percent of Non-influentials.

57% of Influentials know many people who are at least very knowledgeable about vehicles, compared to just 18 percent of Non-influentials.

• Influentials talk about vehicles mostly to family (60%) and friends (58%)
• Non-influentials are less likely to talk about vehicles with family (38%) and more likely to talk with friends (65%)
• 55% of Non-influentials actively seek out advice from Influentials "always" or "most of the time."

Stephen A. Lovett, Director of Automotive & Transportation Research at Harris Interactive, states: "Consumers who take part in spreading the word can be extremely influential... Influentials develop communities to rely on to make their vehicle choice... (while) Non-influentials seek out Influentials for vehicle advice, but they are more likely... to rely on their shopping experience to make their final vehicle choice."

63% Influentials vs. 36% Non-influentials indicate usage of traditional media (television, newspaper, magazines) as sources of vehicle information and are also more likely to use the Internet as a source.

However, Influentials are less likely than Non-influentials to rely on other people (family, friends, acquaintances) and only 17% are likely to use a dealership salesperson as a source of information (vs. 38% of Non-influentials).

Lovett concludes, "While Non-influentials tend to rely on their shopping experience to make their final decision... Influentials can and do help determine which vehicles make it onto the shopping lists of Non-influentials."

Likelihood of Influencer on Brand Choice (purchasers)
	Influentials %	Non-influentials %
Much less likely, less likely, or somewhat less likely	-	9
Neither more nor less likely	39	31
Somewhat more likely	20	21
More likely	32	37
Much more likely9	2
Source: HarrisInteractive

Individuals With Whom Purchaser Discussed Brand Choice (purchasers)
	Influentials %	Non-influentials %
Family members	60	38
Friends	58	65
Acquaintances	25	36
Others	5	4
Source: HarrisInteractive

Information Source Helping Final Brand Decision (purchasers)
	Influentials %	Non-influentials %
Television	24	7
Newspapers	26	8
Magazines	33	8
Internet websites	63	36
Friends, family members, or acquaintances	26	40
Salesperson from auto dealer	17	38
Source: HarrisInteractive

Please visit HarrisInteractive here for a more complete presentation of the data.

CORRECTION: In the January 24th Research Brief regarding Vertis' Decade of Data study discussing media influence on purchasing decisions, we incorrectly stated the percent decrease in this sentence - "TV advertising is no longer the main influencer in their purchasing decisions, down 8 percent from 1998 to 22 percent." This should CORRECTLY read ... “Television advertising is no longer the main influencer in purchasing decisions, according to Vertis. TV ads are now the main influencer for 8% of consumers, compared to 22% in 1998.”

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