Tech Trends
A monthly look at developments that may affect your dealership.

More Buyers Shopping Dealer Web Sites
In May, Friedman-Swift Associates reported the results of a study conducted by surveying 12,270 new car buyers in 2005. Some highlights:

• Visits by new car buyers to dealership websites have grown over 70% in the past four years.
• Overall, 30% of new car buyers visited dealer sites last year, compared with 35% who looked at dealer ads in local papers.
• 36% of import car buyers visited the website of the dealer they ultimately bought from.
• 25% of domestic car buyers visited their dealer’s website.

And two quotes from the head of Friedman-Swift:

“Newspapers have to be concerned. Five years ago, dealerships centered their advertising strategy on big ads in local newspapers. Now, more car buyers use dealers’ Web sites which, in some markets, are less expensive than the cost of a single newspaper ad.”

“In 2001, only 17% of new car buyers went to their dealer’s Web site before they bought a car. Now, more people see the Internet as a quick source of information about a specific car or a specific dealership.”

Judy George, President, Friedman-Swift Associates

Used-Car Shoppers Choosing Internet Over Newspaper Classifieds
A study conducted by J.D. Power and Associates and reported in the May Automotive Digest looked at Internet usage by used-car shoppers. Highlights from this report:

• Dealership sites do better with used-vehicle shoppers than new, 64% versus 48%.
• Shoppers under age 35 are four times more likely to shop online than use newspaper.
• 59% of used-vehicle buyers used the Internet in the process, up from 53% last year.
• 80% of used-vehicle buyers had Internet access.
• Independent websites reaped the highest visitation rates.
• Manufacturer websites were popular with used-car shoppers, largely because many (41%) of those who bought a late-model used vehicle considered buying new.

And some quotes from the JD Power analyst:

“Print continues to serve an important purpose in marketing, but its role in the area of classified listings is diminishing quickly.”

“Once shoppers are online, they are finding that automotive websites are providing better quality and quantity of information about used vehicles.” “In general, manufacturers are not doing all that they can to facilitate the very common practice of comparing new and used vehicles.”

Min Cho, Senior Analyst, J.D. Power and Associates

Online Selling Stimulates Offline Buying
According to the “2006 State of Retailing Online,” a study produced by Shop.org and Forrester Research, online sales will top $200 billion this year, after reaching $100 billion only three years ago. Of this, autos and auto parts make up $15.9 billion. One key point made by the report is that online sales are feeding offline sales in a variety of ways. Read the entire article here.