The Role of Digital Touchpoints in Car Purchasing - An Empirical Research Concerning the Indian Market

Objectives: The present research aims to study how digital touchpoints impact the exploration of purchase opportunities for customers in car purchases. Another purpose is to explore how customers use digital touchpoints to gather information and how it influences their purchase decisions. It also aims to explore the potential mediation effect of "exciting pursuit" on the relationship between using digital touchpoints and exploring purchase opportunities. Methods: The study employed a descriptive approach. A structured online questionnaire was framed that encompassed digital touchpoint usage, information search experience, and purchase opportunities. Stratified and purposive sampling techniques were used to collect data from 605 car owners and prospective buyers across five high-selling states in India. Data analysis via SPSS β=0.311, t =7.331), appropriateness of digital information (AOI; β=0.594, t =11.556) positively impact Exciting Pursuit (EP; β=0.629, t =27.610) and the customer's interest in exploring various purchase opportunities (EPO). EP (t=28.525) significantly influences EPO and act as a mediator between EDCS/AOI (t=11.834/t = 7.399) and EPO. Novelty: This research focuses on the role of digital touchpoints in the car purchase journey in India. It focuses on the customer's emotional response to the digital touchpoints, which are used to gather information for their purchase, and it is creating a mediating effect of exciting pursuit in the relationship between digital touchpoints and purchase opportunities. By leveraging the S-O-R model, this study contributes to the current discussion regarding the changing role of digital touchpoints in the automobile industry. Keywords: Digital Touchpoints, Digital Marketing, Stimuli­Organism­Response Model, Car Buyer Behaviour, Automobile Industry, Structural Equation Modelling