How To Manage The Millennial Car Shopper : AutoTrader Mobile Millennial Case Study

AutoTrader releases groundbreaking statistics on the future of the automotive shopping experience.

 

Millennials have the pedal to the mobile metal and are shaking up the automotive advertising, shopping and purchasing structure, as we know it.
 

Medium's Used ----------

• 95% use the internet to shop with 82% of their time spend shopping online, 51% being on 3rd party sites

• Visit an average 10.1 sites during their search

 

Traditional Media Is Dying ----------

• ONLY 7% used the newspaper to shop and just 12% used TV

• 67% said newspapers where not helpful and 49% stating TV was not a helpful resource either.

• The average buyer spends 19% of the online search at a dealer site and 13% with auto manufacturers’ sites, compared with 15% and 10%, respectively, for the millennial generation.

 

The Mobile Factor ----------

• 44% of millennials used more than one connected device to shop for cars

• By 2020 80% of millennials will use multiple devices to shop for cars

• Buyers are using personal computers less often, down 3 points since just last year to 88% in 2014, while both tablet and smartphone use are up 9 points in the last year, to 28% each.

 

 

Time Spend ----------

• 17.6 hours is now the average amount of time millennials spend car shopping which is 2 hours more than the industry average

   

"The key, Helms said, is for automotive sites to design sophisticated, easy-to-use tablet and smartphone apps."

 

 Your Next Steps ----------

Re-Thinking Your Advertising Strategy:

• With the "Connected Generation" (millennials) in the wake to take over the automotive market, the time is now to adapt your marketing strategy.

Influence Them Online: Meeting millennials on their devices is the name of the game. Smartphones, tablets and wearable's are now the main connection point between you and your customers. With traditional media having less and less effect on millennial's purchase decisions, connecting with them at strategic points before they enter the dealership is essential to making the sale.

  Apps now control 86% of the total time consumers spend on mobile creating a digital presence for your dealership is needed to capture the millennial's eye. Millennials now know what they want, with 70% of them already knowing which make and model they want before they step foot in the dealership.  

• Give customers an easy way to “pick up where they left off”

• Make search simple, be visible on all screens

• Cross device behavior requires conversion goal adjustment

• Align conventional and digital marketing with your digital channels

• Create a optimized shopping experience on every device

 Full AutoTrader Infographic:

       

 Sources:

http://www.automobilemag.com/features/news/1408-autotrader-survey-says-millennials-lead-the-car-buying-revolution/

 http://www.automotiontv.com/navigating-mobile-marketing-a-car-dealership-guide-to-winning-smartphone-shoppers/