One of the most significant shifts in the automotive retail industry born from low inventories is how shoppers shifted to ordering cars from the factory if not finding one on the lot or even in transit. That is one reason CDK Global began tracking how consumers are finding the vehicle they want and how that relates to an easy purchase experience in our Ease of Purchase Scorecard.
We started surveying new car buyers in June and every month since to if low inventories led to more ordering from the factory and buying vehicles in transit. These surveys found that indeed over half of customers in July and September had to use these means to find the vehicle they truly wanted.
But as inventory levels return, we’re seeing shoppers return to buying off the lot.
The impact has been rather immediate. In just the time between October and November, more new car buyers we surveyed found the car they wanted to buy in stock, 49% in November up from 44% in October. This is also the highest number of shoppers surveyed buying cars in stock since we started tracking in June.
The lowest number of shoppers finding the car they wanted in stock, 37%, was recorded in September. That is quite the leap forward in just two months’ time.
These findings come at a time when the SAAR is flirting with a 15 million figure, more cars are hitting franchise dealer lots, and car shoppers are directly impacted.
Nearly three out of four shoppers (71%) said finding the vehicle they wanted was easy, up from 68% in October. Yet, this remains the hardest part of the shopping process for 27% of shoppers. That suggests that even though inventory is returning, there’s still capacity for even higher levels.
Having more vehicles in stock may also be impacting the number of dealerships car shoppers had to visit. In November, 49% of shoppers only visited one store, which is up from 46% in October. Shoppers who visited three or more dealerships dropped from 29% to 24% in that same time. Salespeople should understand that once a shopper has come to their store, they’ve likely located the car they want, but 27% of buyers did visit a second store.
Many shoppers we surveyed in November mentioned that online research before coming to the dealer helped make the process easier, perhaps reducing not just the number of stores they visited but the time it took as well.
Buyers feel like they’re spending the amount of time they expected or less to complete the purchase process. Nearly two out of three shoppers (64%) felt the amount of time they spent completing the purchase was what they expected or less than they expected, similar to last month’s 61%.
Despite these improvements, the overall Ease of Purchase score for November fell two points to 82%. That’s due to two specific parts of the purchase process seeing drops in satisifaction from October: the F&I experience and delivery process.
As we look to turn the calendar to 2023 all eyes in automotive retail will likely remain on inventory levels. But if they continue to rise as expected, the customer experience and what becomes easier on the buyer will likely shift as well.
The Ease of Purchase Scorecard is a monthly gauge of approximately 350 new car shoppers conducted by the CDK Global research team.
David Thomas is director of content marketing and automotive industry analyst at CDK Global. He champions thought leadership across all platforms, connecting CDK’s vast expertise to the broader market and trends driving our industry forward. David has spent nearly 20 years in the automotive world as a product evaluator, journalist and marketer for brands like Autoblog, Cars.com, Nissan and Harley-Davidson.
