Five trends uncovered in new research from CDK Global reinforced how much vehicle shoppers are willing and likely to start the buying process online.

In a recent survey, CDK found that nearly 70 percent of shoppers expected to find the ability to configure a payment on a dealership website, and 83 percent indicated that online buying technology would help them narrow down their vehicle choice and determine what is affordable.

Two other key findings from the survey include:

— 80 percent of shoppers say they would likely configure a payment online

— 60 percent said they would configure a payment and provide contact information

Also of note among those shoppers surveyed, more than half said they would configure a payment and start the credit process.

The research comes soon after CDK recently introduced an online vehicle buying solution for dealers in the United States — CDK Connected Store.

The new solution can provide a personalized and seamless experience for customers and flexibility regarding how much information they have to enter prior to visiting the dealership, from simply configuring a potential payment to actually starting the credit process. The solution can fully integrate with other CDK solutions, including Sales Velocity and dealer websites.

“Consumers have clearly indicated that they expect dealers to offer the ability to start the car buying process online," said Bob Karp, president of Automotive Retail North America at CDK Global.

“Interestingly, our research found that among those same consumers, nearly 60 percent felt more comfortable starting this process on a dealer's website compared to third-party sites,” Karp continued. “Dealers have a big opportunity to improve trust with this new technology, and to reduce the purchase time.”

Through a four-step process, CDK estimates that customers and dealers can save up to 90 minutes in the car buying process though the Connected Store solution. Customers can complete key areas of the deal structure including:

— Select a down payment. Customers can enter how much they would like to put down on their potential vehicle purchase.

— Determine trade-in value. Through Edmunds.com, users can estimate the value of their trade-in. They can subtract their current loan amount from the value of their current car.

— Calculate taxes and fees. Customers can determine the taxes and fees based on their address.

— Obtain credit information. When customers enter their information they can run their credit and determine their score and credit tier. Alternatively, customers may simply estimate their credit rating. They can then select finance or lease options, including terms and miles for the lease.

“What makes our solution unique is that it bridges the online experience seamlessly into the store,” Karp said. “The integration with the DMS and our desking solution also helps ensure that the consumer and the dealer have payment information that matches the online quote.”

CDK's Connect Store solution is currently available to dealers with both a CDK-provided website and a CDK DMS in the United States.

For more information, visit www.cdkglobal.com/connectedstore.