Deal or no deal

We can all agree that while the internet may be a big part of the research process, a car buyer still chooses a dealer before they choose a car, right? And visiting that dealer is still an important ritual, booked ahead and stamped in the diary. No? Well, not according to new research commissioned by Auto Trader, which sheds new light on the car-buying journey.

While buyer habits have fundamentally changed (thanks, internet), dealer habits haven’t always managed to keep up. So Auto Trader commissioned GfK to undertake a UK-wide study of people who have recently bought a car at one of its dealer partners. We interviewed more than 1,300 new and used car buyers. And we debunked these four old myths:

Myth one: Buyers know the car they want

Our research shows that, rather than starting out with a fixed idea of a brand or model, buyers are open to persuasion.

• 55% of buyers don’t know what car they want to buy.
• 29% of all buyers – and 51% of 17- to 24-year-olds – haven’t decided between new and used cars.
• Almost 60% of buyers are still considering multiple brands.

Myth two: The internet is only as important as traditional media

There’s no escaping it: the internet is the most used source of information and it’s no longer enough to rely on traditional advertising.

• 85% of people under the age of 55 use the internet for their car research.
• The internet is used more than any other research source, including the dealer.
• 54% of under 55s consider the internet to be the most influential research source they use.

Myth three: Buyers book dealer visits in advance

The dealership is not a planned stop on the journey for many buyers, so evaluating advertising effectiveness by the number of incoming calls/enquiries or appointments booked is not an accurate reflection of ad campaign performance.

• 58% of all buyers visit dealerships without contacting them first.
• An even greater proportion of women looking to buy a car – 67% – drop in unannounced.

Myth four: Buyers choose the dealer before they choose the car

By the time buyers visit the dealer, it’s to complete rather than evaluate their transaction. Checking prices, stock and availability are the top reasons to go to the dealer’s website. And clicks beat bricks. Buyers make twice as many trips to the dealer’s website as they do to the dealership ( 4.6 compared to 2.3 visits, on average).

When buyers do finally step foot on the forecourt, dealer relationships don’t count for as much of the buying decision as many thought. Just 32% of buyers choose a dealer because they have bought from them in the past.

Stuart Bluck, head of research at Auto Trader, said: “We know that online research is king for the vast majority of buyers, the fact that half of buyers visit only one dealer en-route to their purchase shows that many are armed with all they need before they arrive on a forecourt ready to do a deal.This research was therefore conducted to help dealerships understand how they need to change the way they measure leads and, in effect, how they can adapt their business to these changes in consumer behaviour.”

Buyers do need help – but on their own terms. And dealers can improve their fortunes if they guide rather than railroad buyers and support rather than resist the internet odyssey. At the least, they need websites that make those 4.6 visits count.