2015 THIRD-PARTY AUTOMOTIVE WEBSITE EVALUATION STUDY

March 31, 2015 by J.D. Power and Associates

• High Satisfaction with Automotive Third-Party Websites Drives Tenfold Increase In Shopper Requests for Information from Retail Dealerships

• NADAguides Ranks Highest among Automotive Third-Party Websites for the First Time

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: 30 March 2015 — Vehicle shoppers who are highly satisfied with their shopping experience on an automotive third-party website are 10 times more likely to request information from a dealership than those who have a poor shopping experience, according to the J.D. Power 2015 Third-Party Automotive Website Evaluation StudySM released today.

The study, now in its third year, measures the usefulness of automotive third-party websites during the new- and used-vehicle shopping process by examining four key measures (in order of importance): information/content; appearance; navigation; and speed. Satisfaction is measured on a 1,000-point scale.

Among vehicle shoppers who are highly satisfied (scores of 901-1,000) with their shopping experience, 52 percent say they 'definitely will' request more information from a dealership about the vehicle vs. just 5 percent of those who have a less satisfying experience (scores of 0-500). Slightly more than one-fourth (27%) of new-vehicle shoppers say they 'definitely will' request information from a dealership, while 14 percent of used-vehicle shoppers say the same.

'When shopping online, a positive automotive third-party website experience can influence shoppers' inclination to reach out directly to a dealer to request information about the vehicle they are researching,' said Arianne Walker, senior director, automotive media & marketing at J.D. Power. 'Both dealers and brands benefit by connecting shoppers to the ultimate point of purchase.'

KEY FINDINGS

◾Overall, 79 percent of vehicle shoppers are looking for vehicle price when searching inventory. Used-vehicle shoppers (84%) are more interested in price, compared with new-vehicle shoppers (75%).

◾The majority (67%) of vehicle shoppers prefer to be contacted by a dealership via email, followed by phone (18%) and mail (5%).

◾When submitting a quote request to a dealership, Gen Y shoppers (born 1977-1994) are more willing to share personal information than those in the Boomer generation (1946-1964). Overall, the types of personal information vehicle shoppers are least willing to share include credit score, household income range, birth date and mobile phone number.

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Study Rankings

In 2015, overall satisfaction with automotive third-party websites averages 746. NADAguides ranks highest (768), followed by Cars.com (763) and The Car Connection (760).

The 2015 Third-Party Automotive Website Evaluation Study is based on evaluations from more than 5,000 new- and used-vehicle shoppers who indicate they will be in the market for a vehicle within the next 24 months. The study was fielded in January 2015.

Websites evaluated in the study were selected based on meeting the following criteria: must be an automotive third-party site; have the ability for consumers to shop for both new and used vehicles; and be among the most frequently visited sites based on behavioral data.