CHICAGO, May 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/
-- Cars.com (NYSE: CARS), a leading digital marketplace
and solutions provider for the automotive industry, announced today
that an astounding 10 million car buyers have left reviews for
local dealers on its platform, powered by its DealerRater
technology.¹ For years, Cars.com has provided a venue for consumers
to voice their honest feedback about local car dealers, vehicles
and even individual salespeople, making it the broadest and largest
automotive review platform.
The 10 million milestone comes as digital-first experiences take
center stage and consumers are increasingly seeking out reviews
about how local businesses are handling health and safety concerns
related to the pandemic. In fact, 38% of consumers report that they
read more reviews because of COVID-19.² The number of people
leaving reviews about local dealers is also on the rise:
March 2021 marked the highest volume
ever of new reviews on the Cars.com platform, with nearly 140,000
reviews posted in a single month.¹
"Cars are a large, considered purchase, and consumers can spend
months researching about what and where to buy. Reviews have been
and will continue to be critical to the research phase as shoppers
trust unbiased advice from others like them," said Brooke Skinner Ricketts, chief experience
officer at Cars.com. "Reviews on Cars.com have become even more
important over the last year as consumers pay closer attention to
the buying experience offered by local businesses as consumers seek
the best overall experience for their needs."
Consumers have rewarded local car dealerships for their recent
efforts, leaving 90% positive reviews during the pandemic's peak.³
Other national trends from recent Cars.com and DealerRater research
include:
- Three-star minimum for most purchases. One in 3 shoppers
won't make a purchase without reading a review.²
The majority of shoppers (68%) state they will not buy
from a business with fewer than three stars.²
- The rise of "no touch" retail. Reviews mentioning
contactless services, including "safe pickup" and "home delivery,"
rose 1,100% in just the past
year,³ highlighting how car dealers
are meeting the changing needs of shoppers and transforming the
car-buying process.
- Health and safety: new and influential review
criteria. Sixty-nine percent of respondents wouldn't buy
from a business with poor or negative reviews about pandemic health
and safety measures.²
- Reviews drive sales. Over 85% of dealerships report
DealerRater reviews have helped them sell and/or service more
vehicles.⁴
- Employee reviews spur requests, referrals and sales.
Almost 80% of DealerRater users said consumers have specifically
asked for them because of their online reviews and
reputation. Nearly 90% of shopper requests to work with a
specific sales representative led to a sale.4
To learn more about Cars.com and read reviews about local
dealerships, visit www.Cars.com.
To learn more about DealerRater technology, visit
www.dealerrater.com.
1 Cars.com and DealerRater Internal Data,
Volume of Dealership Reviews, April
2021
2 DealerRater Consumer
Survey April 21-23, 2021; 1,036
respondents
3 Internal Data, Cars.com
and DealerRater platform looking at ~1 million reviews submitted
between March 2020 and March 2021
4
DealerRater Dealer Survey March
2021, 985 respondents
ABOUT CARS.COM INC.
CARS is a leading digital
marketplace and solutions provider for the automotive industry that
connects car shoppers with sellers. Launched in 1998 with the
flagship marketplace site Cars.com and headquartered in
Chicago, the Company empowers
shoppers with the data, resources and digital tools needed to make
informed buying decisions and seamlessly connect with automotive
retailers. In a rapidly changing market, CARS enables dealerships
and OEMs with innovative technical solutions and data-driven
intelligence to better reach and influence ready-to-buy shoppers,
increase inventory turn and gain market share.
In addition to Cars.com, CARS brands include Dealer Inspire, a
technology provider building solutions that future-proof
dealerships with more efficient operations and connected digital
experiences; FUEL, which gives dealers and OEMs the opportunity to
harness the untapped power of digital video by leveraging
Cars.com's pure audience of in-market car shoppers, and
DealerRater, a leading car dealer review and reputation management
platform.
The full suite of CARS brands include Cars.com™, Dealer
Inspire®, FUEL™, DealerRater®, Auto.com™,
PickupTrucks.com™ and NewCars.com®. For more information,
visit www.Cars.com.
ABOUT DEALER RATER
DealerRater,
a Cars.com company, is a leading car dealer review and
reputation management platform that empowers dealerships to
efficiently grow their brands by accelerating, automating and
amplifying review generation across digital channels. By offering a
product suite that allows qualified dealerships to manage their
digital presence and build and maintain their online reputation,
DealerRater helps dealers drive new customer connections every day,
achieve higher SEO rankings and, ultimately, generate
higher-quality leads that close, faster.
Founded in 2002, DealerRater reviews cover 44,000 U.S. and
Canadian dealerships, including a network of more than 5,000
Certified Dealers, that reaches an audience of more than 34 million
consumers each month.
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SOURCE Cars.com Inc.