Buying a car can be a long and winding road—with many twists, turns, and reroutes along the way. Which brand and model fits your lifestyle? Will you add any extra packages or sporty trims? Will you lease or finance your vehicle? Will you buy it new or used? These are some of the questions automotive brands need to anticipate and address throughout the customer journey.

The Consumer Decision Journey report—new research by Spotify Advertising and market research firm Tapestry—provides a possible roadmap detailing what consumers care about when buying a car. This study suggests that digital audio plays a vital role throughout every stage of the path to purchase, guiding both upper- and lower-funnel activities. Spotify surveyed nearly 20,000 audio listeners aged 18–65 across multiple markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, and the U.S.) and multiple buying categories for the study—including the automotive vertical.

"Boomers are being supplanted by Millennials entering their prime car-buying years," says Craig Weingarten, Spotify's Global Category Development Officer, Automotive. "And at the same time, the traditional car-buying journey continues to transform, meaning automotive brands have two major challenges to tackle: How to reach new consumers on their terms, and how to influence them during their car-buying decision journey."

The path to an auto purchase

Here's a quick recap of the five stages of the path to purchase examined throughout the Consumer Decision Journey report:

1. The BE stage, when people are going about their everyday lives, before the trigger for a purchase.
   

2. The DREAM stage, when people are exploring and gathering information about the different options out there.
   

3. The CHOOSE stage, when customers are actually making a choice about a brand, product, or service.
   

4. The BUY stage, when consumers are focused on making the purchase.
   

5. The USE stage, after the purchase of a product or service, when customers are evaluating their decisions.

A full 71% of auto listeners say that Spotify meets their key needs at the "Be" stage of this journey, before they're even considering making a purchase.¹ By the "Dream" and "Choose" stages, that number ticks up to 73%.² The number hovers at 72% and 71%, respectively, during the "Buy" and "Use" stages of the path to purchase.³

Interestingly, for such a big-ticket item, consumer confidence levels are lower during the "Buy" and "Use" stages of the journey than they are in other categories. Just 42% of car buyers are "very certain" of their choice by the time they're ready to make a purchase (at the "Buy" phase), and 69% still have multiple brands in mind at this time.⁴

Key takeaways for auto brands and advertisers

There's an opportunity for auto advertisers to boost buyer confidence at these crucial later stages.

The study found that auto consumers over-index on three explicit reasons for making a purchase, compared to the overall average across vertical categories (baseline):

1. Functionality (45% vs. 36% baseline)

2. Buying from a well-known brand (28% vs. 26% baseline)

3. Innovation (25% vs. 16% baseline)⁵

The research also found that implicit reasons for making a purchase in this category include sentiments like, "It helps me explore and discover new things" (24% vs. 19% baseline), "It helps me feel more positive about life" (23% vs. 21%), and, "It helps me demonstrate my good taste" (21% vs. 17%).⁶

Messaging and brand image are pivotal to speaking to these unique motivators, as is inspiring a connection with potential customers.

"Understanding where Millennial customers are in their path to purchase and how they navigate the research and buying process is key," says Weingarten. "Auto marketers must be able to meaningfully interact with them and take advantage of any given mood and moment in order to be top of mind. This key differentiator can sway outcomes in a brand's favor."

How Spotify can help

Exploration is a key component of the auto buying journey, and it's a theme that should come across in automotive brands' ad messaging. Since 38% of auto buyers opt for a car that "fits within their lifestyle,"⁷ targeting listeners based on lifestyle-specific factors—like living in an area where it's common to drive versus walk—may be one tactic to explore.

Another targeting consideration may be circumstance-specific: For instance, targeting the daily commute or family road trips through playlists with names like "Songs to sing in the car." In fact, Spotify's Sonic Science Volume 2 research shows that 73% of listeners are open to hearing ads on audio streaming services if the tone fits what they're doing at the time. And one in five look up a brand or product online after hearing about it on Spotify.⁸

"Millennials and Gen Z have changed the way we shop," explains Weingarten, "The 'path to purchase' is no longer a linear and one-way route from awareness to driving off a dealership lot with a new car. Younger consumers gather information in unique ways and have their own priorities when selecting a vehicle. So it's important for auto brands (and their dealerships) to understand what they want and expect and to create a plan that builds trust and establishes an emotional connection with these shoppers."

With digital audio's intimate, personalized nature, auto advertisers can give consumers the confidence they need to explore their options and hit the open road. Learn more about the Consumer Decision Journey report and how Spotify Advertising can complement your auto brand's marketing efforts by downloading the auto-specific infographic below.