Dealer and Consumer Insights from Urban Science Harris Poll Survey
We recently commissioned The Harris Poll to survey approximately 200 U.S. OEM Dealers and 2,000 U.S. consumers on key topics, including buyer behaviors and preferences across the customer journey. Here’s a sample of some of the insights we learned. We hope you’ll find them helpful too.
For even more industry insights, contact marketing@urbanscience.com.
Dealers and auto-buying Consumers agree: The Auto Industry has a bright future.
The Harris Poll survey showed that Dealers (95%) and auto-buying Consumers (79%) believe the automotive industry can keep up with the changing needs of the future. On a personal level, Dealers are even more bullish: 96% are confident in the OEM they represent and 99% are confident in their own dealership.
When asked about the biggest drivers of change in the auto industry’s future, Dealers and auto-buying Consumers agree: tech companies and electric vehicles.
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Did you know OEMs and Dealers are trusted sources and partners in the auto-buying process?
In fact, the Harris Poll survey showed 84% of auto-buying Consumers trust the information that comes from an automaker and 81% trust what they receive from an OEM dealership.
We also discovered the top ways shoppers prefer to learn about a brand or vehicle of interest:
- 42% – In-person at the dealership
- 37% – Through a brand website or app
Beyond receiving information, auto-buying Consumers view Dealers as partners. 72% say dealership salespeople have the expertise necessary to help them navigate the vehicle-buying process.
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Auto-buying Consumers are visiting showrooms more and are less brand loyal than you may think.
There is a lot of noise that younger generations steer clear of dealerships, seeking a totally online car-buying experience. The Harris Poll survey indicated otherwise.
On average, auto-buying Consumers visit 2.5 dealerships when shopping for a new vehicle. And Gen Z and Young Millennials, ages 18-29, say they visit even more – an average of 3.5 dealerships – when in the market for a new car or truck.
The study also indicated that customer loyalty is low with 69% of auto-buying Consumers considering more than one brand. In fact, the average auto-buying Consumer considers 2.6 brands. And again, when shopping for a new vehicle, Gen Z and Young Millennials consider even more – 3.8 brands.
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Auto-buying Consumers still see value in brick-and-mortar dealerships.
Buying a car is a big decision. For many auto-buying Consumers, it’s the first or second largest purchase they’ll make. So these Harris Poll survey findings make complete sense:
- 85% of auto-buying Consumers say buying a vehicle is too big of an investment to risk not seeing before buying.
- 83% of auto-buying Consumers would never buy a vehicle without test driving it first.
- Test drives are seen as the most influential resource in the car buying process, with 89% of auto-buying Consumers agreeing they are very/somewhat influential.
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Price is key to getting auto-buying Consumers to the dealership – but there’s more to consider.
According to the Harris Poll survey, a strong majority of auto-buying Consumers cite 5 Top Factors when selecting a dealership:
- Price (84%)
- Quality of the service team (75%)
- Low-pressure sales approach (72%)
- Staff expertise (72%)
- Past experience with dealership (65%)
Other close runners to these “Top Five” factors?
When choosing a dealership, 64% of auto-buying Consumers said large inventory and 63% said online reviews are very important/absolutely essential.
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