The Role of the Internet in the New and Used Vehicle Purchase Process The Internet has become an increasingly important component of the vehicle purchase process. That’s why Polk recently teamed up with AutoTrader.com to conduct a study of recent buyers of new and used vehicles. The results of the study provide fascinating insights into the role, influence and perceived usefulness of automotive websites in the vehicle purchase process, including: How the Internet compares to other information sources in terms of usage and influence Which sites (dealer, manufacturer, third-party) are most used during the shopping process The type of information that consumers expect to find online Get the details about how consumers shopping for vehicles use the web by downloading our latest Polk View

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PolkView
FEBRUARY 2011
BRUCE GIFFIN
Corporate Market Research Manager The Role of the Internet in the New and Used
bruce_giffin@polk.com
Vehicle Purchase Process
JOE RICHARDS
Sr. Manager of Research The Internet has become an increasingly important In addition to being the most influential, the Internet is
Joseph.Richards@autotrader.com
component of the vehicle purchase process. Consum- also seen as the most helpful information source. Two-
ers shopping for new and used vehicles can find a thirds of consumers rated the Internet as “extremely
wealth of information and tools on auto manufacturer, helpful” (score of “9” or “10” on a 10-point scale).
dealer and third-party websites. In comparison, only about one-half of used and new
vehicle shoppers rated a referral from a friend or family
How much time do consumers spend online during as extremely helpful and other sources (e.g., TV, radio,
the vehicle purchase process? How does the Internet direct mail) scored much lower.
compare to other channels in terms of influencing
“
purchase? Why do shoppers use the Internet? This study also revealed an interesting finding regard-
Half of new vehicle ing the influence of social media sites: 97 percent of
To answer these and related questions, Polk and buyers who used the Internet to shop indicated that
buyers and 58 percent AutoTrader.com recently teamed up to conduct a social media did not influence their vehicle purchase.
study of recent car buyers: 4,005 U.S. consumers who
of used vehicle buyers had purchased a new or used vehicle from a dealer-
said that the web was ship within the prior six months. The findings provide More Time Spent on Third-Party Sites than on
insights into the role, usage and perceived helpfulness OEM, Dealer Sites
the most influential of the Internet in the vehicle purchase process. For the first time, this research quantifies the length of
information source the vehicle shopping process for consumers who use
the web as part of the process. Used car buyers spend
in their purchase Internet is Most Used and Influential Media
about 18 total hours, while new car buyers spend
decision.
”
For all vehicle buyers, the Internet is undoubtedly the roughly 19 hours shopping for a new car or truck. For
most heavily used and the most influential channel. both groups, roughly 60 percent of that time is online,
Today, seventy-one percent of consumers use the with the remainder spent visiting dealerships and
Internet while shopping for new and used vehicles, engaging in other offline activities.
more than double the usage of any other information
source. More importantly, the majority of buyers said Of the time online, consumers shopping for both new
the Internet was the most influential source leading to and used vehicles spend more time on third-party sites
their purchase decision. (See Figure 1). than on dealer or manufacturer sites: 7 hours for used
vehicle buyers and 3.5 hours for new vehicle buyers.
Both types of shoppers also visit dealer and automo-
Figure 1: Most Influential Sources Leading to Vehicle Purchase tive manufacturer websites; however, new vehicle
buyers distribute their time more evenly across third-
party, OEM and dealer websites.
Given that 60 percent of the time spent shopping for a
Q: Which media, if any, led you to the car takes place on the web, it is critical for websites to
dealer you purchased from? provide consumers with relevant content, information
and tools to support their decision-making process.
This is particularly important given the multitude of
resources that the Internet makes available.
Search engines are also commonly used during the
vehicle shopping process, with Google being by far the
most prevalent. New and used vehicle buyers primarily
use search to access a dealer website, to find a dealer’s
address or phone number or to access an automotive
manufacturer’s site. About half of buyers who visited a
dealer site arrived at the site via search. This indicates
that shoppers use search engines as a convenient way
of looking up a dealer after that dealer has become a
part of their consideration set.
continued
*TV, radio, direct mail, magazine, outdoor ads, and write-in answers
NOTE: Based on the 71 percent of new and used car shoppers who used the Internet to shop
for their vehicle.
© 2011 R. L. Polk & Co. All rights reserved. R. L. Polk & Co. makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents hereof and specifi-
cally disclaims all implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. R. L. Polk & Co. reserves the right to make changes to this
report without notice or obligation. Polk is a registered trademark of R. L. Polk & Co. 1

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PolkView
FEBRUARY 2011
“ Seven of the 11 hours
spent researching
used vehicles occurs
Despite Heavy Internet Usage,
Initial Contact with Dealer Occurs Offline
According to the research, 67 percent of used vehicle
buyers and 69 percent of new vehicle purchasers
establish initial contact with the dealer by walking into
• Develop Internet strategies that deliver upon shop-
per needs: We all recognize the influence of the
Internet during the shopping process. The implica-
tions to dealers and automotive manufacturers are
clear: leverage the Internet to influence a shopper’s
”
on third-party sites. the dealership. Given that the majority of buyers do consideration set and create visibility for your brand.
not email or call the dealer in advance of their initial Give shoppers what they want (detailed vehicle
visit, it’s important for dealers to look beyond the information, accurate pricing, relevant content, abil-
number of phone calls and emails they receive to ity to compare vehicles) and promote your inventory
assess the true value of their advertising. and brand throughout the entire shopping process.
About the Automotive Buying
Influence Study • Make sure your SEO and marketing strategies are
The study contains findings from 4,005 The Internet Delivers Pricing Information and solid: Most shoppers use search to locate dealer
U.S. respondents who purchased a new or Ability to Compare and OEM sites. In many cases, they also use search
used vehicle from a dealer. The study was
conducted in September and October of 2010. To invest wisely in their online presence, it’s impor- as a Yellow Page-like service to locate the dealer
Our research focused on U.S. vehicle buyers
tant that dealers, manufacturers and third-party sites phone number and/or address. It is therefore critical
who purchased in the prior three months, but that dealers and OEMs effectively employ Search
allowed participation of those who purchased understand how and why consumers use the Internet
in the prior six months. Quotas were set to
during the vehicle shopping process. About 45 percent Engine Optimization strategies to drive customers
ensure a representative sample based on the to their sites. To make it easier for shoppers to find
vehicle make purchased. of new and used vehicle buyers use the Internet to
research vehicle pricing and to compare models across them, dealerships should also effectively market
different makes. The ability to obtain information on themselves on third-party websites.
special offers, dealer rebates and incentives was more • Determine what drives walk-in traffic: Seven out
important to new vehicle buyers (42 percent) than to of 10 shoppers don’t establish contact with the
used vehicle buyers (28 percent). (See Figure 2) dealership prior to visiting it, indicating that dealers
need to look beyond the number of phone calls and
Implications of the Automotive Buying emails they receive and establish methods to assess
Influence Study which advertising sources were most influential in
driving buyers into their dealerships.
ABOUT AUTOTRADER.COM The Polk/AutoTrader.com Automotive Buying Influence
Atlanta-based AutoTrader.com, created in Study has a number of implications for dealers and
1997, is the Internet’s ultimate automotive auto manufacturers:
marketplace and consumer information
website. AutoTrader.com aggregates in a
single location millions of new cars, used cars
and certified pre-owned cars from thousands
of auto dealers and private sellers and is a
leading online resource for auto dealers,
individuals and manufacturers to advertise Figure 2: Why New and Used Vehicle Shoppers Use the Internet
and market their vehicles to in-market
shoppers. The company also provides a
robust suite of software tools for dealers and
manufacturers to help them manage and
market their vehicle inventory and display
advertising on the Internet. AutoTrader.com
also owns used vehicle management software
companies vAuto, HomeNet Automotive and
Kelley Blue Book.
ABOUT POLK
Polk is the premier provider of automotive
information and marketing solutions. Polk
collects and interprets global data, and
provides extensive automotive business
expertise to help customers understand
their market position, identify trends, build
brand loyalty, conquest new business and
gain a competitive advantage. Polk helps
automotive manufacturers and dealers,
automotive aftermarket companies, finance
and insurance companies, advertising
agencies, media companies, consulting
organizations, government agencies
and market research firms make good
business decisions. A privately held global
firm, Polk is based in Southfield, MI with
operations in Australia, Canada, China,
France, Germany, Japan, Spain, the United
Kingdom and the United States. For more
information, please visit www.polk.com.
© 2011 R. L. Polk & Co. All rights reserved. R. L. Polk & Co. makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents hereof and specifi-
cally disclaims all implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. R. L. Polk & Co. reserves the right to make changes to this
report without notice or obligation. Polk is a registered trademark of R. L. Polk & Co. 2