Monthly Archives: February 2012

2011 Google Automotive Shopping Behavior Study

Image representing Google as depicted in Crunc...

Image via CrunchBase

Google has released below a fascinating study on the rapidly changing online shopping habits of the Automotive Consumer.

Automotive Shopping Behavior Study 2011

What I took away from this:

With the all the information that this presentation gives, the overwhelming message is that the Automotive Industry and the car must continue to adapt the the needs of the consumer, and continue to be where the consumer goes.

Interestingly enough, an Automatic Service reminder feature ranked high on the requirements of the customer. As technology evolves I can only see the gaps in the service booking process being filled. Hopefully the car will soon be able to see the gaps in my calendar in my smartphone or cloud service, check those gaps with available times at the dealership, suggest those times and book the date and time I would like with the dealer.

As always, if manufacturers want customers to return to their dealerships for a service, the process to get them there must always be as simple and painless as can be.

The ‘Usefulness of research tools used” slide was the most fascinating to me of all.

Of the offline methods displayed; the test drive, peer recommendation and sales people ranked the highest. Flyers and brochures are also still doing well. The most surprising was traditional forms of media such as newspapers and TV. Are consumer numb to ads on TV? Is the typical ‘massive theatrical wow’ car advertisement with special effects showing nothing but a car driving in beautiful scenery giving nothing of use to a potential customer? One of my favorite car ads on TV showed people using all the features of the car in different situations and environments. I could relate to that, if made me want that car and those features. I can’t see myself with the product if it gets put on my TV screen on the back of unicorns in front of a waterfall.

Of the Online methods, professional review websites, forums etc. all rank very well, however dealership websites ranked last. The consumer is telling the industry that websites for car dealerships do not do anything for them and did not add anything of value to the sales experience. This is however in stark contrast to visits to dealership websites going up.

They are finding the website, the website in where they are looking, it is just not useful to them, so chances are the customer will go elsewhere to find what they are looking for.

A website is not a digitised billboard. A website must be a place that answers your customers questions quickly, easily and with a minimum of fuss. A website must also create loyalty. As Mark Cameron of Working 3 points out in this article, one must create an online brand experience that keeps customers coming back for more.

The study also showed that customers were going to inventory based websites to find their. This to me shows that customers want to know exactly what they are up for. Are they hesitant to go through the sales experience? Do they just want to buy a car without the hoopla? The time of the purely online dealership option seems to be getting closer.

I also find it interesting that customers are barely using social networking and video sharing websites to research their potential purchase, despite these websites being the most visited on the web. Is it due to a lack of presence and content? I tried to search for information on these style of sites when I was shopping for a car, and would have liked some. I found some videos of my car on YouTube. All from USA and Canada and from online magazines and dealerships. When I went to the multiple manufacturers YouTube and social media presences, I could not find anything about the vehicle I had in mind. I did however get some videos on track days and other corporate events. I asked on a brands Facebook page and got a website link. Thank you. However I had come from the website to the Facebook page in search of more.

A fantastic study by Google and I can’t wait for the 2012 version.

What did the study highlight for you?