Young Car Owners to Spend Billions Modifying Their Cars

BY Rachel Cagle
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Does the generation that grew up with cell phones and connects with friends and celebrities from all over the world still have the need and desire to drive cars? What percentage of youth would rather give up their phone over their car? These questions and more are answered in the new 2018 SEMA Young Accessorizers Report.

Highlights from the 2018 SEMA Young Accessorizers Report include:

  • The 24 million 16–24-year-old drivers in the U.S. drove over 155 billion miles in 2017
  • Eight million of those young drivers accessorize their vehicles each year
  • Young accessorizers spent over $7 billion modifying their cars last year
  • 58% of accessorizers would rather give up their phone for a week than their car for a week
  • Social life is very important to young people, and 4 out of 5 say that their car helps bring them closer to their friends

Now, that's not saying that they don't utilize their phones in ways that are helpful to advertisers. According to AudienceSCAN, within the last six months, Auto Aftermarket Accessories Buyers have used a mobile device to watch an online or streamed video (56.3%), search for nearby stores/​retailers (36.1%), watch a video about a product they're considering (35.8%) and take a photo of a product they're considering (32.9%). They're also 82% more likely than other adults to find advertising on their mobile apps useful to them.

The 2018 SEMA Young Accessorizers Report is filled with additional details about how 16–24-year-olds drive, accessorize their vehicles, shop for accessories, where they buy and how they modify their cars. The 75-​page report also includes information on how to reach young accessorizers, parts they purchase and how their car fits in their social life.

Car parts and accessories retailers can promote their wares to Auto Aftermarket Accessories Buyers digitally. According to AudienceSCAN, last year, this group took action after receiving email ads (60.8%), either seeing an ad on their mobile smartphone apps or after receiving a text ad (56.7%) or clicking on a text link ad on a website (53.8%). Traditional media also works for these consumers. Last year, 75.6% took action after seeing a TV commercial.

AudienceSCAN data is available for your applications and dashboards through the SalesFuel API. Media companies and agencies can access AudienceSCAN data through the AudienceSCAN Reports in AdMall.


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