Urban Science's latest Harris Poll study shows vehicle buyers are taking a more deliberate, digitally-driven path to purchase, underscoring the need for dealerships and automakers to adapt their sales, marketing, and customer engagement strategies.
The details: The report, A New Route to the Dealership: How Buyers Shop and Dealers Sell in Today's Automotive Market, found consumers are spending more time researching while placing greater emphasis on value over brand loyalty as economic pressures reshape buying behavior.
Nearly half (44%) of consumers say they spend more time researching than they did a year ago, reflecting a longer and more competitive buying journey.
Nearly one-third (31%) say they are now more focused on value and price than brand preference, signaling more cross-shopping and a greater risk of customer defection.
One in four buyers (25%) say they are more likely to purchase a vehicle entirely online than they were just one year ago.
What they’re saying: “Traditional marketing practices will no longer get the job done; consumers have access to more data in more ways and have become more discerning shoppers,” Carl Matter, director of AdTech Performance at Urban Science, told CDG News via email, adding that consumers are increasingly using AI to guide their searches.
Why it matters: Dealers that adapt to evolving shopping behaviors with stronger digital engagement, personalized marketing and timely follow-up will be better positioned to win increasingly informed and value-conscious consumers, noted Matter.
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Between the lines: The study found confidence in the traditional dealership model remains relatively strong, with nearly two-thirds (63%) of dealers believing the business model is optimized for the future and buyer confidence in dealerships rising to 42%. Still, there are significant opportunities for improvement.
Dealers now allocate an average of 59% of their marketing budgets to digital channels, yet only 35% measure advertising effectiveness against actual offline vehicle sales.
About 82% of buyers said timely follow-up after expressing interest in a vehicle is important, but many dealers acknowledge challenges with consistent follow-up and visibility into lost sales opportunities.
Roughly 15% of ad spending is wasted on ineligible buyers, signaling that dealers need to better target in-market consumers, Matter said.
“Additionally, dealers or agencies should use verified daily industry sales data to ensure they’re pursuing leads that are still in market, and to guide store-level media investments,” said Matter. “This helps ensure their time and marketing dollars are aligned with current opportunities and are keeping pace with market conditions while uncovering demand that may otherwise go unnoticed.”
Bottom line: As economic pressures persist, dealers that take a more data-driven, outcome-focused approach to marketing will be better positioned to improve ROI, connect with qualified buyers and convert more sales, Matter noted.
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