Women more likely to research cars online, study says

The internet has changed the way car buyers prepare to make purchases, and it looks like women are more apt to use blogs and official product information resources to do their research than their male counterparts.

The study, conducted by publisher BlogHer, Inc. found that when it comes to buying cars, women tend to be more excited than men as well. Specifically, 74 percent said they were excited about making their purchase, while just 71 percent of men said the same. And while they were also more nervous than men (53 percent to 42 percent), those fears were allayed somewhat by turning to blogs for advice, with confidence among women rising 8 percent after visiting such websites.

Although going online helped with confidence, in-person dealership visits were still the respondents' top destination when it came to doing research on a potential vehicle purchase. Word of mouth, car review websites, auto manufacturer websites and blogs rounded out the top five.

"Women clearly articulated the features they need to see and the voices they want to hear when considering a car purchase," said Elisa Camahort Page, the co-founder and COO of BlogHer, Inc. "We see a huge opportunity for auto manufacturers to indeed 'Put her in the driver's seat' and let her buying preferences re-shape how the automotive community reaches the powerful women's market."

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