ORLANDO, Fla. -

A newly released eBay Motors survey found that almost half of millenials are likely to use mobile devices for price comparison while shopping for their next new car. And with numbers like that rolling in, the industry is taking note.

And with numbers like that rolling in, dealers are taking note. In an effort to help dealers capitalize on this trend. DME Automotive released a new eBook that focuses on mobile apps. The book titled, The Pocket Revolution:  The Complete Guide to a Killer Mobile App, was reavealed in conjunction with the 2013 NADA Convention and Expo that is being held through today.

The publication, which aims to help dealers “exploit” the mobile app movement by providing them with a “A-Z crash course” is available in electronic and print format at the Amazon.com Kindle store for $2.99; those interested can also download it for free at www.dmeautomotive.com. 

“Consumers are now spending two or more hours daily with mobile apps – roughly twice as much time as with Web browsing. The critical gap for dealerships? Half of their customers are now regular app users, but only about 1-in-10 have a dealership or auto service provider app,” said Mike Walther, chief executive officer of DMEautomotive.

“Dealers know they need to start building mobile apps into their marketing mix, because apps are the key retailing platform of the future; but, until The Pocket Revolution, no practical resources have been available to help a retailer design and execute an effective mobile app strategy. This book illustrates, step-by-step, how to put a 'killer' dealer app strategy in place – and one specifically engineered to generate business from increasingly dealer-disloyal service customers,” he continued.

According to the company, the book focuses on the following elements of app development: how to build it; how to communicate; how to market it; and how to measure success.

“Dealers who start their 'app-ucation' now will be well ahead of the game,” continued Walther.  “And The Pocket Revolution will help accelerate that process so that, a year from now, readers will have an app that creates incredible value for their service customers and a receptive new database of always-connected users to market to.”

Millenial Mobile Use On the Way Up

Interestingly, eBay Motors also touched on the mobile market late last week. The company revealed survey results focused on identifying trends in vehicle shopping behavior in today’s online and mobile world.

The survey — developed to provide dealers with critical insights into how their customers shop for cars — showed that for millennial consumers, “the approach to car shopping revolves increasingly around using their mobile device as a shopping companion anytime, anywhere – including on the lot,” officials shared.

In fact, the survey revealed that more than one-third of millennials use a mobile device to research information while shopping for a vehicle, versus 19 percent of the non-millennials surveyed.

And dealers may want to consider this trend while negotiation prices on used and new cars: 44 percent of millennials are likely to use mobile devices to compare prices or get information while they are at a dealership, compared with 27 percent of the non-millennials surveyed, according to the study.

Furthermore, it seems visiting the dealership may not be the preferred method of shopping for a car, with many turning to their phone or computer to save time and hassle.

In fact, one-in-five millennials even indicated they would consider purchasing a vehicle using a mobile device.

And only 13 percent of millennials reported that visiting a dealership is their most preferred method of shopping for or researching a vehicle, compared to 25 percent of non-millennial consumers whose top preference is to visit a brick-and-mortar dealership.

“It has become increasingly important for dealers to ensure that they are reaching consumers when, where and how they want to shop for vehicles – which today, more than ever, means online and on mobile,” said Kristine Chin, head of motors at eBay Motors.

“Not only is this evident in the consumer survey findings, it’s evident in our own eBay Motors’ data. Our customers are purchasing more than 10,000 vehicles globally each week through eBay mobile apps, including high-end vehicles such as a $369,000 Porsche Carrera GT,” she concluded.

Sarah Rubenoff can be reached at srubenoff@autoremarketing.com. Continue the conversation with Auto Remarketing on both LinkedIn and Twitter.