- trevin98
2 Major Shifts In Auto Buyer Motivations Due To COVID-19
2020 has been a year of adjustment and change. Individuals and business owners were faced with challenges we never imagined that we’d see.
As auto buyers navigate this new landscape, their behavior and motivations have changed.
Here are 2 important new trends that are being observed in our industry.
Trend 1: People are looking to personal vehicles to plan safe getaways
According to a poll from Facebook IQ, car owners largely view personal vehicles as the safest method of transportation currently.
In fact, 65% of US consumers said they will most likely drive on their next trip.
The poll also revealed that 2.2X as many consumers plan to drive on their next vacation opposed to flying.
While this may be sombering news for the airline industry, this should be welcoming to auto dealers, who can take advantage of terrific OEM incentives to attract an expanding shopper base.
Trend 2: Peoples’ motivation for purchasing cars has changed
Just as auto buyers’ opinions of safe travel have changed, their reasons for purchasing vehicles have also shifted.
Shoppers are now 1.9X more likely to say the main reason they were looking for a new vehicle is because of a deal or promotion.
They are also 1.9X as likely to say they were in-market because their car broke down and 2X more likely to say they were looking to avoid public transportation and ride sharing services.
Here is chart showing top buyer motivations before and during the COVID-19 pandemic:
Here’s how you can use these 2 trends to your dealership’s advantage.
Focus on your dealerships reputation. Buyers in todays market are more inclined to browse the inventory of a dealership that has a significant amount of customer reviews. Over 90% of buyers are influenced by customer reviews and are trusted by over 80% of people that are in-market shoppers.
Use Dynamic Inventory Ads to target only in-market shoppers. This strategy will help you spend your budget in a effective way. To learn more about Dynamic Inventory Ads, click here.
As more buyers are using Facebook messenger to communicate with a dealership, respond to buyers within 5 mins of of the initial message. Dealerships that respond to messages in a quick fashion are rewarded by Facebook in their algorithm. You will see a boost in your Facebook Marketplace listings.