Sales Pro Tip: Know the different types of online car shoppers

These days, virtually all consumers do some form of online shopping during the course of their car buying process. CarsDirect wanted to explore differences between different types of online shoppers, which we segmented into smartphone shoppers, tablet shoppers, and computer / laptop shoppers.

We surveyed smartphone car shoppers — defined as those who submitted a lead from a smartphone — to gauge where they stand in the purchase process vs. other online shoppers. The results shed much light on the state of smartphone car shoppers and how close they are to making a purchase. Read on for some interesting excerpts and takeaways from our survey.

Takeaways: Smartphone shoppers are overwhelmingly far into the purchase process, with few shoppers looking for ratings and reviews while almost 50% are looking for pricing information. Shoppers are also looking for information about dealer inventory and photos and colors of the car. A whopping 70% have already decided on trim and options, indicating they are looking for specifically equipped vehicles to purchase.

Takeaways: When it comes to dealer visits, CarsDirect’s survey again shows that smartphone shoppers are very close to purchase. Interestingly, almost 9% of survey respondents were using their phones to look for information while actually visiting a dealer, while almost a quarter of respondents planned to visit a dealer that same day.

Takeaways: It’s official: customers are using their phones as much as they are using traditional computers when car shopping. Consider the fact that many customers are interacting with your store from their phones. Is your site optimized for smartphones? Does it render correctly regardless of which device a customer is using? If it’s not, you might be missing out on sales opportunities.

Takeaways: As we saw above, smartphone customers are generally very close to purchase, so they’re hungry for pricing information. More than half of smartphone shoppers want pricing information from dealers. Additionally, they overwhelmingly want that to receive this information electronically, with almost 70% of smartphone shoppers saying they want to receive prices via e-mail or text message, not by phone call. Make sure you’re equipped to respond to mobile customers using the means they prefer. And don’t play games with pricing, such as the classic “come by the store for a price.” It could lose you the sale, as smartphone customers want immediate information they can act on.

Takeaways: It’s interesting to note that customers are most active on smartphones in the evening and on weekends, whereas desktop is busiest when most customers are in front of a computer at work. Evenings and weekends are of course prime car-buying time, so you’re likely to see a surge of smartphone customers when your store is at its busiest. Remember to not neglect responding to these smartphone customers when your store is busy – they could be just blocks away, ready to make a purchase.

Let CarsDirect help you connect with smartphone shoppers – and all types of shoppers – with our full suite of products designed to help car dealers sell more cars: New Car Leads, Used Car Leads, Special Finance Leads, and innovative Display Advertising and Mobile solutions. Click here to connect with a CarsDirect consultant to create a customized plan to supercharge sales at your store!