More and more wealthy Americans are turning to the web to get their shopping done, but when it comes to luxury cars, they’d rather hit the showroom floor.

That’s the final word from a study conducted by the Luxury Institute, which found that, while shopping online for luxury goods is way up, only about one-fourth of us are comfortable buying our cars that way. The study, which surveyed households with an average net worth of $2.9 million, provides some interesting insight into high-end shopping.

Luxury shoppers appear to be much more at ease buying real estate or big-ticket jewelry items online; nearly 40 percent are content to do so. And nearly two-thirds of people with annual incomes of $150,000 or more are OK with buying fashion apparel or finding wealth advisors online. But when it comes to cars – well, the showroom experience just can’t be beat. Maybe it’s that new car smell.

“These highly tactile, big-ticket luxury items are generally better experienced rather than simply presented on a website,” explains Milton Pedraza, Luxury Institute CEO. However, that doesn’t mean luxury players don’t need a presence on the web.

Nearly two-thirds of all high-end shoppers go directly to the web to get more information on their purchases before they buy. So while today’s consumers are reluctant to make online purchases beyond $10,000 (the average comfort threshold for online purchases was about $3,294), the overall shift toward more online activity is making its way to higher end purchases.

So does that mean it’s only a matter of time before you’ll buy that new Aston Martin online? Time will tell. As Pedraza noted, it’s hard to truly get the “wow” effect from a web site; nothing beats walking into the showroom and driving off with a brand new steering wheel in your hands. This could be one experience that even technology can’t replicate – or replace.

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