Used
Car Shoppers Spending More
Time Online
Shoppers
Concentrate More on Independent Sites
While
the rate of growth of used-vehicle buyers using the Internet during
the shopping process has leveled off, those who use the medium
for this purpose are spending more time online, according to the
J.D. Power and Associates 2003 Used Autoshopper.com Study.
The
study, which examines the role of the Internet in the used-vehicle
shopping process, finds that the average amount of time spent
by automotive Internet users shopping for a used vehicle online
has climbed 15 percent-from 4.8 hours in 2002 to 5.5 hours
in 2003. Forty-seven percent of used-vehicle buyers have used
the Internet during the shopping process in 2003, which is unchanged
from 2002 levels. These shoppers visit an average of 10.5 sites
throughout the online shopping process, concentrating more on
independent sites than on manufacturer or dealer sites.
"As
in the new-vehicle market, price-related information is most important
to online shoppers," said Chris Denove, partner at J.D. Power
and Associates. "Used-vehicle buyers also place a premium
on impartial vehicle reliability information, trade-in values
and even new-vehicle pricing. Unlike most dealer and manufacturer
sites, many independent automotive sites are well positioned to
meet all of these critical needs."
The
study finds that 53 percent of used-vehicle buyers visit the Kelley
Blue Book (kbb.com)
site, which is more than any other site.
AutoTrader.com
continues to gain in popularity among used-vehicle buyers, highlighting
a growing consumer migration away from published classified ads
and toward Internet vehicle listings. Nine percent of used-vehicle
buyers now locate their vehicle through an online classified-up
from only 4 percent in 2000. The use of traditional classifieds
has fallen from 13 percent to 11 percent in that same time frame.
"While
newspaper classifieds are still an important tool, the success
of online classifieds illustrates the impact the Internet has
had on the used-vehicle shopping process," said Denove. "Organizations
such as AutoTrader.com, with its sister magazine AutoTrader, as
well as Cars.com, with its national network of newspaper classifieds,
have a long history of success playing at both ends of this used-vehicle
marketing field."
The
study also finds that European brands have the highest concentration
of automotive Internet users among their used-vehicle buyers.
Conversely, the Domestic makes have the highest concentration
of buyers who do not use the Internet at all. Luxury buyers are
more likely than non-luxury buyers to use the Internet for used-vehicle
shopping and research.
The
2003 Used Autoshopper.com Study is based on responses from nearly
15,000 owners of used vehicles who purchased pre-owned 1998-2003
model-year vehicles.
Click
here for
more information, including the full study.
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