Study: Car Buyers Choose Online Research Over Dealership Visits
A new study from Netsertive finds two-thirds of car buyers visit only one or two dealerships but fewer than half know which brand they want when they start searching online.
RESEARCH TRIANGLE REGION, N.C. — Dealership digital marketing provider Netsertive announced the findings of its Automotive Shopper Path to Purchase survey, which gathered insights from more than 500 U.S. car buyers.
The survey found that most customers are conducting extensive research online before visiting a dealership, with 67% of respondents visiting only one to two dealerships before making a purchase. When customers began their online research, 45% knew which brand of car they wanted, but were unsure about which dealership they would purchase from. Another 34% of respondents were unsure about both brand and dealership, relying on digital channels to educate themselves.
Survey respondents used a variety of channels to conduct online research. The most popular were consumer reviews, local dealer websites and search engines. Nearly 50% of shoppers used mobile devices to conduct their automotive research. In addition to researching new-car options, a recent Facebook survey found that auto shoppers are also using mobile devices to reach out to dealers and book test drives.
“The automotive industry is extremely competitive, especially now that buying decisions are increasingly made before customers visit a dealership,” said Brendan Morrissey, CEO and co-founder of Netsertive. “We understand the automotive landscape and the goals and challenges each dealership faces daily. At Netsertive, we use data-driven insights to help brands and dealerships execute co-op marketing campaigns to target car shoppers throughout their purchasing journey.”
To read the full text of the report, click here.
More Showroom
Making the Safe Choice
Kelley Blue Book has turned households with teen drivers onto safe and affordable options for their vehicles of choice
Read More →
Inventory Holds Steady
September new-vehicle inventory rose slightly month-over-month, but dealer lots are laden with MY2026 vehicles as the typical model year changeover trudges along.
Read More →
October Auto Sales Fall With the Leaves
A forecast anticipates retail deliveries are down this month as consumers continue to face cost challenges, though more are tapping long loans in order to buy.
Read More →
California Sees Quarterly Gains
California’s new-vehicle market saw a boost in hybrids in the third quarter and its first overall quarterly market gain of the year.
Read More →
New-Vehicle Prices Stay Put
Affordability pressures and model availability shaped new-vehicle sales in September, according to an analysis by Kelley Blue Book.
Read More →
EV Buyer Consideration Shifts
What drives American consumers to purchase an electric vehicle is shifting as the question moves away from Should I?' to 'Which features and experience do I want to have?'
Read More →
Year-to-Date Auto Sales Holding Their Own
A forecast through August shows that automakers have shifted strategies to keep deliveries and revenues up despite tariffs and other economic challenges.
Read More →
Slow to Robo
Ten years of polling consumers shows autonomous vehicles’ profiles have risen considerably, but even more people now want at least some level of control if they go that route.
Read More →
Dealers a Little Down
A third-quarter Cox Automotive survey finds them in a mixed mood, bummed by fallen customer traffic but encouraged by better profits, costs and EV interest.
Read More →
European EV Sales Skyrocket
The EV market on the continent held strong in July with almost 25% of new-car sales being fully electric units, a stark contrast to the U.S., where EV sales declined about 42%.
Read More →