Turning online tire kickers into online buyers

To convert more online car shoppers from interactive tire kickers to actual sales, automotive dealers and manufacturers first need to better understand what is influencing their buying behavior, says a new report from Jupiter Research. Next up, Jupiter says, is building web and e-commerce sites with the research tools and comparison features that move car buyers from the first stage of the sales funnel to the last.

Today more than 134 million consumers representing about 34 million households use the Internet at some point in their hunt for a new or used vehicle. But the number of customers actually using the Internet to complete the purchase of a new car, including arranging financing online and a final pick-up at the dealer, is only about 1%, Jupiter says.

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Dealers and manufacturers can identify and, more importantly, convert more sales if they first understand the customer’s purchasing needs and try to influence the sale as early in the process as possible.

Jupiter says 64% of online car buyers are undecided on a particular make or model when they begin their online research and 71% haven’t decided on any particular dealership.

But buyers who visit dealer or manufacturer sites with highly interactive research tools, vehicle configuration applications, and payments calculators are twice as likely to either request a quote online from a dealer or visit a showroom for a follow-up discussion. The earlier in that process that dealers and manufacturers can use their web sites and analytics to identify price points, model preferences and purchasing intentions the better chance they have to convert the sale, Jupiter says.

"Web sites that draw more consumers into the online sales process and provide easier access to the information they want will see higher conversions," says Julie Ask, Jupiter automotive research analyst. "But manufacturers and dealers must first understand what is influencing online buying behavior and make sure site content and features are giving buyers what they are looking for."