Google Shares Latest Search Trends During Car Purchase Process

It’s no mystery that consumers use Internet searches to educate themselves on large ticket purchases, and Google’s recent release of a study shows just how important that research is for those in the process of buying a car.

Potential buyers usually visit a dealership at least once, but it’s the digital realm that is informing customers well before they step onto that showroom floor, having made numerous micro-decisions in an effort to make the best choice possible.

YouTube videos are a main attraction for potential buyers with nearly 70 percent of them being influenced by information gained from watching, says the Google Internal data. Both independent YouTube creators as well as better-known industry reviewers have had twice the number of views this year in the first three quarters of 2015, a staggering 3 million hours of review content. The three most common types of videos auto shoppers search for are test-drives, highlights of features and options, and personal walkthroughs of the interior or exterior.

The Google study found a 37 percent increase in search interest for “pictures of [automotive brand],” with 80 percent of such searches happening on mobile phones, which suggests that people may be inspired to get a closer look while seeing a particular car out on the road. Mobile searches from dealership lots were reported to be up by 46 percent.

Half of all buyers will use their smartphone while visiting a dealer, mainly to ensure that they can afford the purchase, and are getting the best possible deal (also know as “showrooming”). Searches for the Blue Book, as well as competing dealers, are the most common made. In the last year, searches for Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) as well as list prices went up by 25 percent. Search interest for trade-in values also rose in 2015, with 50 percent of such searches made on a mobile phone.

Even as the majority of car buying decisions move online, the dealership still remains crucial to the process, and Google searches for “car dealerships near me” have doubled this year. Along with where shoppers will go, they also want to know when they’ll be visiting. A popular search, especially on mobile phones, is “are dealers open Sunday.”

One of the fastest growing Internet searches in the automotive sector is interest in inventory. Buyers want to know if their vehicle of choice is in stock, with dealer’s websites and apps often satisfying queries.

But some things haven’t changed, and only 22 percent of the time is the first card brand searched for the one that gets purchased. Google searches for dealer phone numbers are up 78 percent in the past year, demonstrating that it sometimes still takes a good old phone call to get the information you need.

Click here to see the full report.