SAN FRANCISCO -

Data from Jumpstart Automotive Media's latest shopper insight reports reveals that longer ad campaigns see higher click-thru rates and, athough loyalty has continued to recently drop for entry luxury sedans, the segment remains the No. 1 most-shopped luxury segment on Jumpstart sites.

Interestingly, while loyalty for entry luxury sedans is down 7-percent from the same time last year, according to Jumpstart’s August Path to Purchase report, currently shopper interest in the segment shows a 9-percent increase since last year, as well.

Loyalty also dropped by 4-percent from Q1 to Q2 of this year, according to the report.

“As interest grows in this segment, there’s also competition from other cross-shopped segments that is diminishing loyalty for entry luxury sedan shoppers, such as midsize luxury sedan and midsize sedan,” Jumpstart strategic insights and analytics senior director Aline Hilsabeck said in a news release.

Jumpstart suggests new vehicle and model options within the midsize sedan segment continues to increase competition for shopper interest.

With year-over-year shopper growth of 37-percent, midsize sedans currently make up the highest number of hybrid models, according to Jumpstart.

“All the varying vehicle sizes, as well as alternate fuel options, are giving today’s shoppers a tremendous amount of options to choose from,” added Hilsabeck. “This certainly explains why there is a lot of interest for entry luxury, but why it’s also seeing some of the biggest increases in cross-shopping today.”

Longer ad campaigns' impact on ROI

Meanwhile, in regards to shopper interest overall, longer ad campaigns see higher click-thru rates than short-flighted ones because car shoppers are beginning their research with narrow consideration sets and spending less time making purchase decisions, according to Jumpstart’s "The Long Run: Why Constant Brand Presence Matters" report released in August.

Jumpstart found that most shoppers start their research considering just three brands, two body styles and three models.

Following their research, the report shows that 93 percent of car shoppers make a purchase in about four months, and 68 percent were found to finish within a month, according to the report.

The click-thru rate of one month-long ad campaigns averages 0.06 percent, compared to 0.08 percent at four plus months.

Both two-month and three-month-long campaigns average 0.07 percent.

Additionally, the report shows longer ad campaigns also yield lower costs per visits and visitor.

The following lists how campaign length affects ROI by month:

  • 1 Month — CTR Rate: 0.06 percent, Cost Per Visitor: $30.58, Cost Per Visits: $17.34
  • 2 Months — 0.07 percent,  $19.59, $10.63
  • 3 Months — 0.07 percent, $7.50, $4.01
  • 4+ Months — 0.08 percent, $7.55, $3.71

The report is based on over 4,000 Tier-3 dealer digital marketing campaigns that ran across the U.S. last year, according to Jumpstart.