Factors Influencing Online Advertisements of Passenger Cars: Evidence from the Silicon Valley of India

The major advertisement expenditure in India is shared by the market of FMCG and automobile companies today. Passenger car buyers from urban areas depend more on the internet platform to watch advertisements, read auto reviews, compare car specifications and prices of different models and to locate dealerships than never before in the country. Therefore, the present study focuses on identifying major determining factors of online advertising of the passenger car segment and discusses customers' internet usage pattern within Bengaluru city limits among India's urban population. The primary data was collected from 500 respondents (internet users) from Indian Silicon Valley with different socioeconomic classes. This research's outcomes can be an exceptional input to the Indian automobile sector by improving the current market situation and customer expectations towards online advertising and its current trends for the passenger car segment in the Indian scenario. The findings show that the car buyers have started using internet irrespective of their gender, age, occupation or income and trying to access more information from internet than peer groups before they visit car dealers. Mainly five major determinants were identified in designing online advertisements as well, they are brand value, price and availability, service quality, technical specifications, and after-sales service in contract to the entertainment, usability and credibility factors of online advertisements.