In recent years, consumer usage of newspaper automotive classifieds has plummeted.  As recently as 2005, 12% of new-vehicle shoppers and 8% of used-vehicle shoppers reported finding their vehicle via newspaper classifieds.  By 2008, these figures were down to 2.8% and 3.5% respectively.
  At the same ... Read More »

There haven’t been any big, news-making developments recently in the world of search, so I thought it worthwhile to check in.  Data from comScore shows that Google continues to dominate, Yahoo still has a substantial presence, and Ask.com and AOL are holding on to increasingly smaller shares.
While it ... Read More »

The 2009 Manufacturer Web Site Evaluation StudySM (MWES)—Wave 1 released today and Honda ranks highest among automotive manufacturer Web sites for usefulness in new-vehicle shopping. The semi-annual study measures the usefulness of automotive manufacturer Web sites during the new-vehicle shopping process. New-vehicle ... Read More »

New-vehicle buyers are using the Internet during their shopping process in ever-increasing numbers and the role of dealership Web sites continues to expand.  In 2008, 41% of all AIUs visited a dealership Web site, up substantially from 35% the year before.   The role of the dealer site has primarily been lower ... Read More »

It seems to me that Web site designers sometimes lose sight of who visits their sites and buys their products.  Scion.com provides a clear illustration: in keeping with the brand’s youth-oriented image, the site is designed to appeal to a younger audience with its unconventional layout, video background, bright ... Read More »

All new-vehicle buyers reach a set of key milestones during their shopping process, but the point at which they encounter these milestones varies widely. A shopper’s personality, financial concerns, and transportation needs, among many other factors, can influence everything from first deciding to shop for a new ... Read More »

Although many (if not all) automotive manufacturers are engaged with social media, they have overwhelmingly been cautious about bringing that kind of content onto their own Web sites.  Recently, I discovered that the Chrysler Group is using social media on its brand sites while still retaining control. Start with the ... Read More »

Last year J.D. Power and Associates introduced a timeline showing the milestones new- and used-vehicle buyers reach before their vehicle purchase in order to better define the purchase funnel.  The data is often reported using means or averages, aggregating the shopping behavior of millions of vehicle shoppers into one ... Read More »