The online automotive landscape offers a rich mix of information from manufacturers, dealers, independent third parties, enthusiast groups and many more.

Online research has enormous importance in the pre-purchase decision process of new car buyers. Due to state franchise laws, relatively few new cars are actually purchased online; however, industry sources generally hold that 60% or more of new car purchases in the United States are preceded by online shopping and research. And, the Web has produced a thriving market for used car buyers and sellers.

comScore Media Metrix analysis – along with advanced analysis from comScore Marketing Solutions – offers marketers a view of the dynamics of online car shopping and their ultimate influence on offline buying.

48 Million Visit Auto Sites

In February 2003, nearly 48 million people – approximately 33% of all U.S. Internet users – visited automotive Websites.

With 10.6 million unique visitors, eBay Motors was the traffic leader among not only third-party sites, but also the entire automotive category. The Big Three original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) expectedly maintain their standing online, with General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler drawing 5.7 million, 4.2 and 3.2 million unique visitors respectively.

	Top 15 Automotive Sites Unique Visitors (000) February 2003 U.S. Home, Work and University Locations   All Locations (000) Home (000) Work (000) University (000) Total Internet Users 144,884 125,052 48,103 9,905 Automotive Category 47,621 33,060 17,132 3,154 eBay Motors 10,566 7,223 3,476 744 Autobytel Inc* 7,707 4,533 3,175 662 AOL Prop Auto 7,160 5,438 1,608 394 MSN Autos 5,743 2,919 2,834 335 General Motors 5,667 3,830 2,265 321 KELLEYBLUEBOOK.COM 5,518 3,470 2,083 280 AUTOTRADER.COM 4,712 3,234 1,332 388 Ford Motor Company 4,246 2,604 1,566 259 Yahoo! Autos 3,354 2,102 1,185 215 Daimler Chrysler 3,193 1,684 1,419 173 CARTOPIA.COM 3,096 2,052 1,077 131 CARS.COM 2,352 1,530 726 184 EDMUNDS.COM 2,222 1,377 867 131 Honda 2,170 1,232 775 185 AUTOSEARCHER.COM 2,002 1,256 677 171 * Autobytel, Inc includes traffic to Autoweb.com and Carsmart.com, which Autobytel owns.

Minimal Cross-Visiting Among Online Automotive Marketplaces

Many consumers shopping for cars depend on the “neutral territory” of online marketplaces to research and compare vehicle specifications, check prices and request referrals to local dealerships.

Interestingly, within a given month there is minimal overlap among visitors to automotive marketplace sites. In fact, only approximately 20% of the 12.5 million total visitors to Autobytel.com, Autotrader.com and Cars.com visited more than one of these sites in February 2003 – even as these shoppers researched multiple vehicle brands. This level of focus explains the need for OEMs to effectively compete through multiple third-party sites for share of voice and consumer awareness.

Local Market Buyer Analysis: Autobytel.com vs. Cars.com

Online automotive marketplaces typically earn revenue by generating dealer leads as well as through advertising and sponsorship payments from OEMs, financing and insurance services, and others. This business model makes it vital for supporting dealers and advertisers – as well as the sites themselves – to assess competitive strengths and gaps within specific local markets. And this need is amplified by the likelihood that a visitor will likely be focused on just one such site within a given month.

An analysis of comScore Network’s LocalScore data reveals key differences between these sites and their potential influence on automotive sales by market. Using proprietary models, LocalScore measures the actual dollars spent offline and online – by market – on hundreds of product categories by visitors to specific Websites. This LocalScore analysis focuses on new vehicle purchase activity in 2002 among visitors of two leading sites: Autobytel.com and Cars.com.

On average, visitors to both Autobytel.com and Cars.com spent an almost equal amount on new vehicle purchases. However, comparing this per-visitor spending level across markets reveals significant differences at the local level.

For example, residents of Nashville, Spokane and Little Rock who visited Autobytel.com in Q4 respectively spent an average of 35%, 12% and 9% more on new vehicle purchases in 2002 than those who visited Cars.com.

Conversely, Cars.com has its own strongholds. For example, residents of Syracuse, Greensboro and Denver who visited Cars.com respectively spent 14%, 13% and 9% more than those that visited Autobytel.com. The table below details additional markets in which significant differences exist.

	Ranking of Local Markets by Competitive Spending Index* Category: New Car Purchases Visitors in Q4 2002 Indexed by Annual Average Spending Source: comScore Networks LocalScore? Autobytel.com Cars.com Local Market Competitive Spending Index vs. Cars.com Local Market Competitive Spending Index vs. Autobytel Nashville 135 Syracuse 114 Spokane 112 Greensboro--W.Salem 113 Little Rock-Pine Bluff 109 Denver 109 Toledo 109 Richmond-Petersburg 108 Norfolk-Portsmth-Nwpt 109 Wichita-Hutchinson 107 Tulsa 109 Roanoke-Lynchburg 107 Albuquerque-Santa Fe 108 Lexington 107 Wilkes Barre-Scranton 108 Des Moines-Ames 106 Phoenix 107 Oklahoma City 106 Flint-Saginaw-Bay City 107 Raleigh-Durham 105 *The Competitive Spending Index is calculated as follows: ((Per-visitor spending on new vehicles for visitors of a given site / Per-visitor spending on new vehicles for visitors of specified competitive site) x 100)

Reaching the University Audience to Capture Lifetime Value and Loyalty

University students are highly important to automotive companies seeking to attract first-time buyers, and convert those buyers into brand-loyal consumers for life.

Yet like all online car shoppers, university students rely on various types of sites, and thus can be elusive to OEMs online. In fact, of the 3.2 million University students visiting automotive sites in February, only about one third visited a manufacturer Website (a ratio comparable to the home/work population). Of those visitors, General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Honda drew 31%, 25% and 18% respectively. Notably, Honda’s ranking among auto sites rises from number four in the total online population to number three among University visitors.

	University Visitors to Automotive Manufacturer Sites February 2003   Unique Visitors (000) % of Total Univ. Visitors to Auto Manufacturer Sub-Category Total Internet Users 9,905 N/A Automotive Category 3,154 N/A Mfr Sub-Category 1,054 100.0% General Motors 321 30.5% Ford Motor Company 259 24.6% Honda 185 17.6% Daimler Chrysler 173 16.4% TOYOTA.COM 111 10.5%

Conclusion

Thanks to the Internet, millions of consumers navigate the car-buying process with more information than ever before. This revolution has challenged the way manufacturers and others view the traditional “purchase funnel.” At the same time, it presents all-new opportunities for marketers armed with clear visibility of consumers’ paths through this complex landscape.