New Data from PERQ Indicates Significant Lag Time Between ‘Ready-to-Buy’ Consumers on Dealership Websites and Actual Purchase

Data analyzed from over 45,000 consumer profiles offers key insights into digital consumer purchase cycle and shopping behaviors 

Indianapolis, IN – January 25, 2017 - New consumer data gathered and analyzed by PERQ shows a significant lag between the time consumers submit an online vehicle appraisal and the time the actual purchase takes place, in spite of the fact that nearly three quarters of these consumers indicate they are “ready-to-buy.” The data further reveals that nearly 40% of the consumers are not current customers at the dealership where they are engaging in the appraisal. This, while confirming that consumers are neither brand nor dealership loyal, reveals ripe opportunities for dealerships to win over these ready-to-buy customers on the dealership website. The consumer behavior analyzed by PERQ was gathered from 45,000 consumers who appraised their vehicle via PERQ’s FATWIN trade-in tool in 2016. 

“These findings confirm how important effective post lead activity is for dealerships, and indicates that consumers are not getting the information, follow-up or relationship build they need to easily transition from a ‘ready-to-buy’ to a ‘purchasing’ customer,” said Russ Chandler, Product Marketing Manager at PERQ. “We know that consumers are submitting leads on an average of four other dealer websites[1], so it’s critical that dealerships offer an interactive, customized website experience that helps guide the consumer into the dealership showroom, while also gathering the lead information that will facilitate more effective sales engagement and conversion.”

This is precisely what PERQ’s FATWIN Web Engagement platform is achieving for dealerships. Unlike any other platform in the industry, FATWIN ‘virtually’ trains dealership websites to have a relevant, real-time ‘conversation’ with each visitor through dynamic interactions (such as incentives, appraisal, warranty information, etc.) that change based on the consumer’s journey across the website. This essentially ‘warms up’ that consumer for his/her in-dealership experience, while at the same time gathering increasingly relevant information (by asking for new information based on each step of that journey). This information is then sent as an update to the dealer CRM so that follow up can be better aligned with that consumer’s recent online activity. All of this has led to significant increases in lead volume (200%, on average), five times more consumer data and up to 15% lift in profit directly tracked to those leads for dealerships using FATWIN.

Other data gathered from PERQ’s interactive Trade-in tool, which is just one element of FATWIN, indicates that the miles consumers are putting on their vehicles before trading them in has increased year over year. But, on a positive note for resales, 30% of vehicles appraised were under five years old, and over a third had no loan on them. Interestingly, the data also indicated that dealership personnel should stay on alert at lunchtime on Wednesdays - when the highest level of appraisal activity is occurring.

“Know thy customer is an old mantra in our industry, but the challenge is that most dealerships simply don’t know a thing about the consumers who are landing on their websites. The data gathered from our Trade-in tool is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to knowing and understand not only overall industry trends, but also the needs of each specific customer so that every interaction makes sense for that consumer,” continued Chandler. “Given that today’s consumers are shopping vehicle first, versus dealership first, being ahead of, and aware of, their needs can give dealers a significant competitive advantage.”

Data Highlights

• Domestics were the most appraised, with Ford, Chrysler and GM in the top three, followed by Toyota and Nissan.
• Trucks and large SUVs were the top two most appraised body styles.
• Average time from trade-in appraisal on a dealer website to purchase was 12.7 days
• 44% of the vehicles appraised had over 100k miles versus 38% the year before.
• 39% indicated they were currently servicing their vehicle at another dealership than the one they were currently getting an online appraisal from
• 37% of appraisals indicated there was no loan on their current vehicle
• 30% of the vehicles appraised were less than 5 years old 
• The highest online appraisal day/time of the week was Wednesday from 12-1pm
• 74% of consumers appraising their vehicles indicated they were in the market to purchase now
• 29% were interested in New and 42% were interested in used, the rest were unsure

About PERQ

PERQ (www.perq.com), a marketing technology provider, boosts website conversions by creating and delivering interactive experiences to the right consumers at the right time. Founded in 2001, PERQ solutions today are used by more than 1,000 businesses across the United States. PERQ’s brands have been named to the Inc. “500 Fastest Growing Companies in America” list on three separate occasions.

PERQ Media Contacts

Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, melanie@mwebbcom.com or 949-307-1723

Cassandra Cavanah, mWEBB Communications, Cassandra@mwebbcom.com or 818-397-4630