CARY, N.C. -

Welcome to the first installment of Auto Remarketing’s Digital Intelligence report.

In this online series, we’ll explore the increasing presence of mobile devices in car-shopping, multi-screen shopping, car-shopping among Millennials, best digital advertising practices and more. 

We begin the series with a look at mobile devices and examine just how popular and important they have become to automakers and dealers.

So, What Do Shoppers Want?

Forty-five percent of car buyers in the last five years said that before they walk into the dealership to purchase a car, they would need a confirmed price on that vehicle in hand, according to research from eBay Motors.  

More than half would rather step onto the lot with specific make/model, incentive, warranty and history report information already nailed down.

And as more and more consumers are doing extensive online research, dealers would be wise to immerse themselves not only in the online vehicle market place, but also engage customers via mobile and digital avenues.

“Consumers have new expectations for the dealer experience. They’re putting in hours of research online, and increasingly expect to have a clear understanding of everything from price to warranty information before setting foot in a dealership,” said Clayton Stanfield, senior manager of dealer training at eBay.

“Dealers must participate in the online marketplace and engage with shoppers through their preferred channels, which are increasingly digital and mobile, just to be part of the purchasing consideration set, let alone win business.”

More Mobile

Stanfield’s latter comment on mobile devices rings especially true given the following two statistics from eBay Motors.

Nearly half (46 percent) of the respondents in its vehicle owners survey said they would like to use a mobile device for research on their next car, and more than two-fifths (41 percent) said they would like to user their mobile device to look up information on dealerships the next time they’re shopping for a car.

Sites like CarGurus.com are already seeing shoppers move to mobile.  The company recently noted that 30 percent of its user traffic is on its mobile site instead of a desktop.  This is up from 14 percent a year ago.

CarGurus also polled 1,100 in-market shoppers and found that nearly two-thirds (64 percent) said they use their mobile device at the dealership to research prices.

Furthermore, 61 percent say they’re using the phone to check out the competition.

And consider the traction eBay Motors has made in the mobile space. In fall 2012, there were close to 9,000 vehicles sold each week through the company’s mobile apps. That figure is now up to 13,000 vehicles each week.

Meanwhile, Jumpstart Automotive Group reported that 45 percent of shoppers use their mobile device to look up information while at the dealership.

About two-thirds (67 percent) spend as much as two hours browsing auto sites on smartphones or tablets, Jumpstart said.

Many of these findings play into what J.D. Power and Associates found through its 2013 Automotive Mobile Site Study, which indicated that 89 percent of shoppers expect all website content to be accessible via mobile.

But it’s not just the smartphone — or even just mobile devices in general — that consumers are using as part of the shopping process. Stay tuned to Part II of this series, where we take a closer look at multi-screen shopping.

Joe Overby can be reached at joverby@autoremarketing.com. Continue the conversation with Auto Remarketing on both LinkedIn and Twitter.