ROCHESTER, Mich., Aug. 03, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dealers remain extremely influential in the new auto purchase process with more than 3 out of 5 new car buyers reporting their experience at the dealership highly influenced their recent purchase decision, according to Foresight Research’s recently published 2015 Dealership Immersion Report™. Perhaps even more importantly for dealers, the dealership experience is just as influential – and increasingly so – among younger buyers.
“After years of increasing domination by Boomers, the Millennials are finally returning to the new car market,” says Chris Stommel, President of Foresight Research. “While they are certainly digital-savvy buyers overall, for more than half of them this is their first new car purchase and they are just as reliant on dealers as older buyers. During the 2013 sales year, slightly over half of 18-34 year old buyers were influenced by their dealer experience; that jumped significantly to 63% in 2014.”
Millennials also bring a different set of criteria to dealer selection. They more often value a comfortable environment for browsing and shopping, and are particularly concerned with price/value and financing. But with many being first time buyers, they less often choose a dealer based on prior experience with a particular dealership or salesperson. Instead, they use digital tools including the dealer website and online reviews.
“Perhaps most telling that auto shopping is evolving,” said Stommel, “is the differences in what younger buyers seek from a dealership in their next vehicle purchase. Much more so than Boomers, Millennials are open to online or ‘on-my-own-time’ options like virtual showrooms and online price negotiation.
This group is knocking on the dealership door and, as they continue to be a larger portion of new auto buying customers, their preferences will dictate what makes a robust dealership.”
The Dealership Immersion Report™ is among a suite of Foresight Research’s syndicated auto retail-focused reports; these include Dealer Action ReportsTM, which explore best practices for areas that can make a difference for dealership ROI (current topics include Making Digital Work For You™, Growing Your Service Business™ and The Power of Brochures™); Market Intelligence Reports which delve into single markets to better understand auto purchase influences; and the Accessories Immersion ReportTM which addresses the profit potential of automotive accessories in the dealership.
About Foresight Research – www.foresightresearch.com
Foresight Research specializes in syndicated and custom studies focusing on key influencers of purchase decisions in the automotive industry. Since 2008, Foresight Research publishes syndicated reports each year that provide information, strategies and best practices to help auto companies, their partners, and auto dealers to build, position, and support marketing insights and actions.