Americans buy about 40 million used cars every year, and less than one percent of those sales happen completely online. Analysts from J.P. Morgan expect that number to grow to 12 percent by 2030. Buyers may turn to huge online-only retailers like Carvana and Vroom for much of those sales. J.P. Morgan analysts expect Carvana alone to account for 35 percent of nationwide online used car sales that year.
Smaller dealerships will likely lose the most business to the giants. “It’s honestly just not a fair fight,” Vroom CEO Paul Hennessy told reporters yesterday. While local dealerships may list as many as 100 used vehicles for sale, Vroom has 16,000 listings on a typical day.
Consumers are buying cars online more frequently during the COVID-19 pandemic than they did before. They’re also more satisfied with their buying process than before.
Kelley Blue Book’s own At Home Services allows shoppers to buy nearly any car, schedule test drives, and even arrange touchless delivery of a new car, without ever setting foot inside a dealership.
