More than twice as many late-model used vehicle buyers find the car, truck or SUV they purchase through the Internet than both newspaper and magazine classified ads combined, according to a new study from J.D. Power and Associates.
The study finds that in the past five years, the percentage of buyers finding their used vehicle through a traditional newspaper or magazine classified ad has been cut in half -- from 14% in 2002 to 7% in 2006. During the same period, buyers who found their vehicle through an online classified more than doubled from 8% in 2002 to 16% in 2006.
“Print continues to serve an important purpose in marketing, but its role in the area of classified listings is diminishing quickly,” says Min Cho, a senior analyst at J.D. Power. “The domination of the Internet over print in the used-vehicle market will only increase as today’s younger buyers become a larger buying force in the market. Buyers under the age of 35 are more than four times as likely to be led to the vehicle they purchase by information found online than by print classified ads.”
More late-model used vehicle buyers are using the Internet in their vehicle shopping process than ever before, says J. D. Power. In 2006 59% of used vehicle buyers used the Internet during the shopping process, compared with 53% in 2005. 80% of used car buyers also now have access to the Internet. This increase in web access is driven largely by buyers over 60, according to the study.
“It is now cheaper than ever to own a computer and to have Internet service, which is why we’re seeing such significant shifts in the number of consumers using the Internet to shop for used vehicles,” says Cho. “Once shoppers are online, they are finding that automotive web sites are providing better quality and quantity of information about used vehicles. The impact can be felt in what shoppers buy, who they buy from and what they’re willing to pay for their vehicle. Better search tools and applications are allowing web sites to ‘listen’ to shoppers better and more quickly match them up with appropriate vehicle considerations.”
Independent web sites continue to garner the highest visitation rates among used-vehicle buyers, according to the study. These buyers are specifically turning to independent sites for pricing, inventory and reliability information. Many independent automotive sites also offer online classified listings powered by sites such as AutoTrader.com or cars.com.
Dealership sites attract large numbers of used vehicle buyers as well. In fact, significantly more used car buyers who use the Internet visit dealership web sites than do new car shoppers. Although many manufacturer web sites don’t offer much information about vehicles made in previous years, they do have high visitation rates among used vehicle buyers, says J.D. Power “In general, manufacturers are not doing all that they can to facilitate the very common practice of comparing new and used vehicles,” says Cho. “Manufacturers have an opportunity to demonstrate that the vehicles they made a few years ago are still performing well, thus supporting residual values. They also have an opportunity to demonstrate why their new vehicles are even better than the ones they replaced, supporting new-vehicle sales. When manufacturers do more to support the shopping process, visitation to their sites will increase.”
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