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New Study Looks At How Auto Dealers Manage Their Web Sites

16 February 2000

New Study Looks At How Auto Dealers Manage Their Web Sites

   Survey Shows Consumers Rate Car Pricing As Most Important Information on
                               Dealer Web Sites

    CINCINNATI, Feb. 16 -- Many auto dealer Web sites meet
consumer expectations, but some dealers fail to deliver all the information
needed to make a purchase decision, according to research results released
today by Friedman-Swift Associates, an automotive market research firm in
Cincinnati, in conjunction with The Cobalt Group , a leading
provider of Internet solutions for the automotive industry.
    "Far and away, the hot button for shoppers is price," said Judy George,
senior vice president of Friedman-Swift and coordinator of the research study,
which surveyed 934 car shoppers.  "An overwhelming majority of the shoppers,
92 percent, said that prices of vehicles in inventory were the most important
items of information to include on dealer Web sites."
    Most shoppers, about 86 percent of those surveyed, said they did get
vehicle prices on dealer Web sites. But fewer (65 percent) said they received
an online price quote for a specific vehicle, a key factor in completing the
purchase process, George said.
    "When shoppers e-mailed dealers for more information, most dealers (55
percent) responded within 24 hours," George said.  "But 19 percent of dealers
never responded to shoppers' inquiries at all."
    These Web surfers were serious about buying, George added.  Of the total
sample, 77 percent intended to purchase a vehicle in the next year, and 40
percent planned a purchase in the next two months.
    "These research findings can help dealers build better customer service,"
said George.  "Many shoppers want to gather as much preliminary information
online as possible before making a purchase decision.  Dealers who pay
attention to what shoppers want will do well, but those who don't risk losing
both immediate and future customers."
    The research study surveyed 934 consumers who visited Cobalt's DealerNet
home page ( http://www.dealernet.com ) in November and December 1999.  The results of
the study were presented at the 2000 National Automobile Dealers Association
(NADA) convention in Orlando in January.  The research findings have a margin
of error of +/- 3.2 percent.
    "To our knowledge, this is the first large-scale consumer research study
that evaluates dealer Web sites," said Suzanne Sellers, senior business
development manager at The Cobalt Group.  "Before this study, most information
about what people wanted from dealer Web sites was at best uncertain.  Now we
have a clearer picture of what consumers are looking for and how dealers can
improve their performance."
    Key findings from the research study are posted at http://www.friedmanswift.com .

    ABOUT FRIEDMAN-SWIFT ASSOCIATES
    Friedman-Swift Associates, established in Cincinnati in 1979, provides
marketing research services for thousands of automotive dealers, dealer
associations and automotive manufacturers.  The firm's clients include 24 of
the top 30 dealer groups in the U.S. and almost all dealerships that are
ranked number one in each line in Ward's Dealer Business listings.

    ABOUT THE COBALT GROUP
    The Cobalt Group(TM) , based in Seattle, is a leading
provider of Internet-based automotive products and services. Through Web
development and hosting, data management and online car referral services,
Cobalt helps dealers, dealer groups and automobile manufacturers harness the
power of the Internet to better serve their customers.
    With approximately 5,000 dealer Web site clients, over 10,000 dealers
using its parts locating system, and relationships with 16 automotive
manufacturers and more than 50 of the 100 largest dealer groups in the United
States, Cobalt is one of the leading technology companies serving the
automotive industry. Cobalt operates DealerNet(R) ( http://www.dealernet.com ), one
of the best-known automotive destination sites on the Web, and PartsVoice(R)
( http://www.partsvoice.com ), a leading OEM auto parts locating and data management
service. Cobalt offers Web site services that are endorsed by the National
Automobile Dealers Association. For more information, please visit The Cobalt
Group at http://www.cobaltgroup.com .