Safety, security top women car buyers' expectations: Study

Vantage point: Insights from cutting-edge research

Safety, security, and convenience are key expectations in the features and services women buyers seek in their cars, according to Women Automotive Buyer Study published by PremonAsia, an automotive industry focused consulting firm. A few of the interesting findings of the study include: On the security front, women prefer and want live tracking car’s service through mobile app, pick and drop facility for car service, security alarm system, 24-hour roadside assistance, rear camera and automatic door closing system. Despite the emergence of aggregator cab service providers such as Ola and Uber, personal transportation continues to be the key mode of mobility in the foreseeable future. While a significant number of women have used cab services, their negative perception of trust and safety issues act as deterrents for regular usage of such services.

While hunting for a new car, word of mouth (seeking inputs from a trusted family member/friend or another owner of the product they consider) is the main source of information for women buyers. Digital and social media, which serve as other reference points during the buying process, are however not the principal source of information gathering for potential buyers. Further, the findings of the study indicate visually appealing cars and innovative technology are important drivers of brand perception among women who look at VW, Honda and Hyundai positively on these virtues. For carmakers, women aged between 22 and 25 years is critical. It is in this age group that most women learn driving and acquire a licence. Interestingly, women in smaller cities tend to start learning driving and acquire licence sooner than those in metros.

Indian CIOs keen on leveraging new-age technologies

The Gartner Hype Cycle for ICT in India, 2017, exemplifies the trends in India related to taking interest in new and emerging technologies, yet also having a cautious approach toward mainstream adoption. “This year’s Hype Cycle demonstrates the keen interest Indian organisations are taking in both emerging and maturing technologies,” said Pankaj Prasad, principal research analyst at Gartner. “The market is witnessing the entry of local vendors in emerging, as well as mature, technology segments, including areas such as IoT robotic process automation offerings and machine-learning-based technologies.”

In India, most of the technologies on the Hype Cycle have a high to moderate benefit for firms; 13 of the technologies will take two to five years for mainstream adoption, and nine technologies will mature during the next five to 10 years.

Some technologies, such as mobile money, social analytics and robotic process automation offerings, will support new ways of doing business across industries. Technologies such as machine learning, IoT and smart city frameworks are of a transformational nature, which will result in a significant transformation within the industry dynamics and in the creation of a new ecosystem. Those on the innovation trigger, such as artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps) platforms and virtual support agents, may take longer to achieve wide market acceptance. These technologies have less than five per cent market penetration, and will take a long time to reach mainstream adoption. Four technologies — cloud service brokerage, crowdsourcing, 4G and software as a service (SaaS) — no longer are part of this Hype Cycle, because they have matured, been replaced by a technology more relevant to the Indian market or become obsolete.