Just wondered if anyone could comment on the inferred difference between the JD Power numbers and the Cobalt research.

JDP talk of 34% of shoppers considering one brand, 20% 2, 30% 3 and 16% 4+. While the Cobalt/Google/Polk study talks of an average of six dealer visits by shoppers with slightly over 1 dealer visit per brand. Can these numbers be reconciled. What are the latest number of Dealers and brands physically visited in the purchase process by J D Power? I had thought that as the amount of research online goes up, the number of physical dealer visits might well go down. Any thoughts or comments?

The two studies are so different in methodology and intent that it is not possible to reconcile these numbers. To highlight the differences:
- J.D. Power Escaped Shopper Study: paper survey, 20k+ respondents, broad respondent pool, the question asks respondents to write in up to three other models that they considered but didn't buy
- Yahoo!/Cobalt/R.L. Polk: online survey, 550 respondents, major metro regions only (consumers with a broad choice of
brands and dealerships), the question shows all automotive brands and asks them to pick any for which they visited dealerships

Data from our Sales Satisfaction Study (SSI) which shows that new-vehicle AIUs (buyers who used the Internet during their shopping process) visit more dealerships than do non-AIUs. Internet usage does not cause this difference in behavior - rather, the people who are researching online are more likely to cross-shop while those who aren't are generally more loyal to a brand/dealership. Other groups less likely to cross shop: buyers above 60, domestic buyers, those with a high school education or less, etc. The 2006 SSI shows that AIUs visit 3 dealerships vs. the figure of 6 from the Yahoo!/Cobalt/R.L. Polk study, but again methodological differences make direct comparisons difficult.

We do not have data to address your specific question regarding the relationship between number of sites visited and number of physical dealer visits. It is likely that for some consumers further research narrows the consideration set (both brand & dealership) while for others further research merely supports an offline behavior that involves visiting multiple dealerships.

Thanks

Great very useful response can you please tell me is there any trend you see in physical dealer visits up or down in the SSI from previous years comparing AUI to Non AUI shoppers?

The one-year trend from 2005 to 2006 shows a slight increase in the number of dealers visited for both AIUs and non-AIUs. It's not a particularly noteworthy change. We don't have this data from before 2005 and the 2007 study has not yet been released, so we can't offer any more insight than that.

In regards to the discrepancies between the Cobalt and J. D. Power studies in what appears to be the average number of models considered by the AIU's surveyed, I would like to submit the following for consideration... The J. D. Power research is based on a far more broad based online car shopper, whereas the Cobalt study is more likely to be targeted to the database of customers they have access to, such as those leads generated by Dealix and the various producers aggregated by Dealix affiliated sites. In looking at the online experience of car shoppers who visit one of these Dealix affiliated sites, you will find that their is a distinct and highly focused effort to encourage consumers to consider multiple models. In many ways, the process seems similar to when I buy books from Amazon.com. In that experience, the book I select is matched up with books also bought by other people who had previously purchased the book I am ordering. The suggestion is made that I may be interested in those very same books. Likewise, when I select a single vehicle model on a Dealix affiliated lead producer site, I am then offered the opportunity to obtain dealer price quotes on similar vehicles from different manufacturers... So, even if I was previously only considering one vehicle model, the temptation to get price quotes on other similar models from different manufacturers is very high. All I have to do is simply place a check mark to the left of the alternatives offered by the site and voila, i am instantly transformed from a single model considerer into a multiple model considerer. The fact that this also increases the lead revenue Dealix and the producer sites receive from each consumer is a powerful incentive to convert a single model vehicle considering online car shopper into a REAL shopper comparing multiple models from multiple manufacturers...

This is what I believe influences the discrepancies in number of models being considered by car shoppers in the two different studies.