Certified Pre-Owned Programs Drive More Car Sales
November 06 2006 - 11:34AM
PR Newswire (US)
New Data Shows Certified Programs Positively Impact Shopping
Behavior and Vehicle Sales with Certified Pre-Owned-Specific
Shoppers CHICAGO, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Experian Automotive and
Cars.com today announced details of new studies that independently
measured the impact of certification on vehicle sales and consumer
awareness of certified programs and their features. According to
the findings, Cars.com shoppers who submitted leads to dealerships
on certified vehicles had a shorter time to purchase, were more
likely to buy within the brand for which they sent their initial
lead and were far more likely to upgrade to a new car purchase. The
findings stem from an Experian Automotive analysis of 345,000 email
leads sent by Cars.com shoppers between January 2005 and February
2006. Among these shoppers, 66 percent purchased a vehicle within
the analysis timeframe. On average, shoppers that sent leads on
certified vehicles bought a car seven days faster than
non-certified lead senders. In keeping with manufacturers' goals to
build brand loyalty, certified lead senders were also 29 percent
more likely to stay within the brand for which they sent the lead
vs. used car lead senders. Many of these lead senders converted to
new car buyers. "These findings demonstrate the continued strength
and value of certified pre-owned (CPO) programs to the
manufacturers," said Dave Nemtuda, director of AutoCheck Solutions
for Experian Automotive. "In fact, a CPO lead is 75 percent more
likely to convert into a new vehicle sale than a non-CPO used
vehicle lead." Cars.com also surveyed online used car shoppers to
gauge their awareness, understanding and consideration of certified
programs and their features. While only a small percentage of
shoppers were specifically shopping for a certified vehicle, 70
percent of used car shoppers on the site would consider buying a
CPO vehicle if it met their needs. Among these shoppers, there was
a high level of awareness of certified program features, including
inspections, vehicle history reports and warranties. Shoppers also
rated these features as the most important. Reflecting the
opportunity for continued certified education in the marketplace,
shoppers were less familiar with certified features such as
roadside assistance and incentives. There was a considerable
disparity between consumers' awareness of these certified benefits
and the importance shoppers placed on them. For example, while
nearly half of shoppers cited the importance of incentives, only 21
percent associated incentives with certified programs. "While we
have come a long way in building general awareness and
consideration of CPO vehicles, we see continued opportunity for
manufacturers to educate potential buyers of the many benefits to
buying a certified used vehicle," said Kevin Considine, Cars.com's
vice president of advertising. "By increasing awareness of specific
program features, there is a distinct opportunity to bring more
shoppers into the certified consideration set." Car shoppers
responding to the survey attributed certification awareness to
three primary sources: third-party websites, manufacturer
television ads and Web sites, and the dealerships. Among them,
third-party and manufacturer resources proved most effective at
building awareness of specific program features and benefits. "The
Internet provides an ideal forum for manufacturers to educate
consumers about their brand and the myriad CPO program features and
benefits," said Considine. "As car shoppers look to make
well-informed buying decisions, they often require more information
than can be conveyed in a 30-second TV or radio spot." About
Experian Automotive Experian Automotive delivers information
solutions to manufacturers, dealers, finance and insurance
companies, and consumers. Experian helps automotive clients
increase customer loyalty, target and win new business, and make
better lending and vehicle purchase decisions. Its National Vehicle
Database, housing more than 500 million vehicles, along with
Experian's credit, consumer and business information assets, meets
the industry's growing demand for an integrated information source.
Experian's advanced decision support services help clients turn
this information into improved business results. Experian
technology supports several top automotive web sites including eBay
Motors, Yahoo! Autos, CarsDirect.com, CarMax.com and
NADAguides.com. For more information on Experian Automotive and its
suite of solutions, visit our web site at
http://www.experianautomotive.com/ . About Cars.com Partnered with
more than 200 leading metro newspapers, television stations and
their websites, Cars.com is the most comprehensive destination for
those looking to buy or sell a new or used car. The site lists more
than 1.8 million vehicles from 12,000 dealer customers, classified
advertisers and private parties to offer consumers the best
selection of new and used cars online, as well as the content,
tools and advice to support their shopping experience. Recently
selected by Forbes.com as a Best of the Web site for car shopping,
Cars.com combines powerful inventory search tools and new-car
configuration with pricing information, photo galleries, buying
guides, side-by-side comparison tools, original editorial content
and reviews to help millions of car shoppers connect with sellers
each month. Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is a division of
Classified Ventures, LLC, ( http://classifiedventures.com/ ), which
is owned by leading media companies, including Belo (NYSE:BLC),
Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI),
Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB) and The Washington Post Company
(NYSE:WPO). DATASOURCE: Cars.com CONTACT: Brian R. Hannan of
Cars.com, +1-312-601-5519 (direct), +1-312-218-0788 (mobile), Web
site: http://www.experianautomotive.com/ http://www.cars.com/
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