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© 2011 R. L. Polk & Co. All rights reserved. R. L. Polk & Co. makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents hereof and specifi-
cally disclaims all implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. R. L. Polk & Co. reserves the right to make changes to this
report without notice or obligation. Polk is a registered trademark of R. L. Polk & Co.
FEBRUARY 2011
1
The Internet has become an increasingly important
component of the vehicle purchase process. Consum-
ers shopping for new and used vehicles can find a
wealth of information and tools on auto manufacturer,
dealer and third-party websites.
How much time do consumers spend online during
the vehicle purchase process? How does the Internet
compare to other channels in terms of influencing
purchase? Why do shoppers use the Internet?
To answer these and related questions, Polk and
AutoTrader.com recently teamed up to conduct a
study of recent car buyers: 4,005 U.S. consumers who
had purchased a new or used vehicle from a dealer-
ship within the prior six months. The findings provide
insights into the role, usage and perceived helpfulness
of the Internet in the vehicle purchase process.
Internet is Most Used and Influential Media
For all vehicle buyers, the Internet is undoubtedly the
most heavily used and the most influential channel.
Today, seventy-one percent of consumers use the
Internet while shopping for new and used vehicles,
more than double the usage of any other information
source. More importantly, the majority of buyers said
the Internet was the most influential source leading to
their purchase decision. (See Figure 1).
In addition to being the most influential, the Internet is
also seen as the most helpful information source. Two-
thirds of consumers rated the Internet as “extremely
helpful” (score of “9” or “10” on a 10-point scale).
In comparison, only about one-half of used and new
vehicle shoppers rated a referral from a friend or family
as extremely helpful and other sources (e.g., TV, radio,
direct mail) scored much lower.
This study also revealed an interesting finding regard-
ing the influence of social media sites: 97 percent of
buyers who used the Internet to shop indicated that
social media did not influence their vehicle purchase.
More Time Spent on Third-Party Sites than on
OEM, Dealer Sites
For the first time, this research quantifies the length of
the vehicle shopping process for consumers who use
the web as part of the process. Used car buyers spend
about 18 total hours, while new car buyers spend
roughly 19 hours shopping for a new car or truck. For
both groups, roughly 60 percent of that time is online,
with the remainder spent visiting dealerships and
engaging in other offline activities.
Of the time online, consumers shopping for both new
and used vehicles spend more time on third-party sites
than on dealer or manufacturer sites: 7 hours for used
vehicle buyers and 3.5 hours for new vehicle buyers.
Both types of shoppers also visit dealer and automo-
tive manufacturer websites; however, new vehicle
buyers distribute their time more evenly across third-
party, OEM and dealer websites.
Given that 60 percent of the time spent shopping for a
car takes place on the web, it is critical for websites to
provide consumers with relevant content, information
and tools to support their decision-making process.
This is particularly important given the multitude of
resources that the Internet makes available.
Search engines are also commonly used during the
vehicle shopping process, with Google being by far the
most prevalent. New and used vehicle buyers primarily
use search to access a dealer website, to find a dealer’s
address or phone number or to access an automotive
manufacturer’s site. About half of buyers who visited a
dealer site arrived at the site via search. This indicates
that shoppers use search engines as a convenient way
of looking up a dealer after that dealer has become a
part of their consideration set.
continued
The Role of the Internet in the New and Used
Vehicle Purchase Process
BRUCE GIFFIN
Corporate Market Research Manager
bruce_giffin@polk.com
JOE RICHARDS
Sr. Manager of Research
Joseph.Richards@autotrader.com
Figure 1: Most Influential Sources Leading to Vehicle Purchase
“
”
Half of new vehicle
buyers and 58 percent
of used vehicle buyers
said that the web was
the most influential
information source
in their purchase
decision.
*TV, radio, direct mail, magazine, outdoor ads, and write-in answers
NOTE: Based on the 71 percent of new and used car shoppers who used the Internet to shop
for their vehicle.
Q: Which media, if any, led you to the
dealer you purchased from?

2. www.polk.com
PolkView
© 2011 R. L. Polk & Co. All rights reserved. R. L. Polk & Co. makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents hereof and specifi-
cally disclaims all implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. R. L. Polk & Co. reserves the right to make changes to this
report without notice or obligation. Polk is a registered trademark of R. L. Polk & Co.
FEBRUARY 2011
2
Despite Heavy Internet Usage,
Initial Contact with Dealer Occurs Offline
According to the research, 67 percent of used vehicle
buyers and 69 percent of new vehicle purchasers
establish initial contact with the dealer by walking into
the dealership. Given that the majority of buyers do
not email or call the dealer in advance of their initial
visit, it’s important for dealers to look beyond the
number of phone calls and emails they receive to
assess the true value of their advertising.
The Internet Delivers Pricing Information and
Ability to Compare
To invest wisely in their online presence, it’s impor-
tant that dealers, manufacturers and third-party sites
understand how and why consumers use the Internet
during the vehicle shopping process. About 45 percent
of new and used vehicle buyers use the Internet to
research vehicle pricing and to compare models across
different makes. The ability to obtain information on
special offers, dealer rebates and incentives was more
important to new vehicle buyers (42 percent) than to
used vehicle buyers (28 percent). (See Figure 2)
Implications of the Automotive Buying
Influence Study
The Polk/AutoTrader.com Automotive Buying Influence
Study has a number of implications for dealers and
auto manufacturers:
• Develop Internet strategies that deliver upon shop-
per needs: We all recognize the influence of the
Internet during the shopping process. The implica-
tions to dealers and automotive manufacturers are
clear: leverage the Internet to influence a shopper’s
consideration set and create visibility for your brand.
Give shoppers what they want (detailed vehicle
information, accurate pricing, relevant content, abil-
ity to compare vehicles) and promote your inventory
and brand throughout the entire shopping process.
• Make sure your SEO and marketing strategies are
solid: Most shoppers use search to locate dealer
and OEM sites. In many cases, they also use search
as a Yellow Page-like service to locate the dealer
phone number and/or address. It is therefore critical
that dealers and OEMs effectively employ Search
Engine Optimization strategies to drive customers
to their sites. To make it easier for shoppers to find
them, dealerships should also effectively market
themselves on third-party websites.
• Determine what drives walk-in traffic: Seven out
of 10 shoppers don’t establish contact with the
dealership prior to visiting it, indicating that dealers
need to look beyond the number of phone calls and
emails they receive and establish methods to assess
which advertising sources were most influential in
driving buyers into their dealerships.
ABOUT POLK
Polk is the premier provider of automotive
information and marketing solutions. Polk
collects and interprets global data, and
provides extensive automotive business
expertise to help customers understand
their market position, identify trends, build
brand loyalty, conquest new business and
gain a competitive advantage. Polk helps
automotive manufacturers and dealers,
automotive aftermarket companies, finance
and insurance companies, advertising
agencies, media companies, consulting
organizations, government agencies
and market research firms make good
business decisions. A privately held global
firm, Polk is based in Southfield, MI with
operations in Australia, Canada, China,
France, Germany, Japan, Spain, the United
Kingdom and the United States. For more
information, please visit www.polk.com.
“
”
Seven of the 11 hours
spent researching
used vehicles occurs
on third-party sites.
Figure 2: Why New and Used Vehicle Shoppers Use the Internet
ABOUT AUTOTRADER.COM
Atlanta-based AutoTrader.com, created in
1997, is the Internet’s ultimate automotive
marketplace and consumer information
website. AutoTrader.com aggregates in a
single location millions of new cars, used cars
and certified pre-owned cars from thousands
of auto dealers and private sellers and is a
leading online resource for auto dealers,
individuals and manufacturers to advertise
and market their vehicles to in-market
shoppers. The company also provides a
robust suite of software tools for dealers and
manufacturers to help them manage and
market their vehicle inventory and display
advertising on the Internet. AutoTrader.com
also owns used vehicle management software
companies vAuto, HomeNet Automotive and
Kelley Blue Book.
About the Automotive Buying
Influence Study
The study contains findings from 4,005
U.S. respondents who purchased a new or
used vehicle from a dealer. The study was
conducted in September and October of 2010.
Our research focused on U.S. vehicle buyers
who purchased in the prior three months, but
allowed participation of those who purchased
in the prior six months. Quotas were set to
ensure a representative sample based on the
vehicle make purchased.