PITTSBURGH -

Just two dealerships. Based on data provided by Women-Drivers.com, that is the average number of stores women will visit before they buy a car.

And once they drive away from your dealership without a new set of keys in their hands, most aren’t looking back in the rear-view mirror.

In fact, nearly three-fourths (72 percent) don’t return to a dealership if they leave there without having made a purchase, the site said in a recent study.

So, how do you keep these increasingly influential buyers on your lot? Better yet, how can dealers improve their engagement with female shoppers and ultimately drive sales?

The report from Women-Drivers sheds a bit of light on this topic.

Titled the “2014 Women’s Car Buying Report: Shopping, Buying, Leasing and Service Trends at Car Dealerships,” the study indicates that the top five reasons women buy at a certain dealership are as follows:

1. Treatment by salesperson
2. Best price or deal
3. Dealer reputation
4. Best model and/or color selection
5. Location and/or hours

Meanwhile, the top five reasons women buyers list for buying from a specific salesperson are because that person was:

1. Trusting
2. Respectful
3. Knowledgeable
4. Likeable
5. Understanding

Let’s flip the tables; why do women shoppers choose not to buy?

To see the top five reasons listed for not buying at a specific dealership, be sure to check out the Jan. 15-31 print and digital editions of Auto Remarketing for our full story.
 
There, we also turn to the the site’s analysis on the differences between shopping behavior and buying/leasing behavior for women, and take a detailed look at the service shop, as well.