A new car or takeaway?

Buying a new car on the go, via just a smartphone screen, has become as normal as ordering a takeaway, new analysis shows.

The revelation of a smartphone revolution in online car-buying comes from BuyaCar.co.uk as analysis reveals that purchases on the small screen are comfortably outstripping those on desktops or laptops. Almost every month in 2018 saw car-buyers using smartphones more than standard computers and tablets combined.

Technological advances in fraud prevention have also helped to make smartphones a go-to tool for ensuring finance applicants are genuine.

It means, for the first time, even a large and expensive item, requiring careful consumer protection from fraud, can be completed on the go anywhere with 3G, 4G or wireless internet access.

In 2016, BuyaCar.co.uk saw just one third of buyers completed their transaction on a mobile phone screen. In 2017 that figure shot up to 42% and this year 46.9% of car purchases were completed on a mobile, in the first ten months.

Several months this year have seen more than half of all sales on BuyaCar.co.uk completed on a smartphone and the business expects mobiles to account for the majority of car sales early in 2019.

Austin Collins, managing director of BuyaCar.co.uk, said, ‘The smartphone revolution has been fantastic for the growing number of busy consumers who no longer want to dedicate time to visiting multiple dealers and haggling over prices.

‘First, internet-connected phones just enabled everyone to research the cars they wanted, wherever they happened to be, but rapid technological advances have now made the whole car-buying process simple – even when you’re out and about. These days buying a car on your phone is as normal as ordering a takeaway through an app.’