More than two thirds of car buyers are likely to test drive a vehicle if they are “delighted” with their experience on an OEM website, found J.D. Power.
According to the J.D. Power 2015 Canadian Manufacturer Website Evaluation Study, videos, “build and price” calculators, 360 degree interior/exterior view tools and other interactive content significantly boost Canadian car shopper satisfaction with automotive websites.
Based on the results of the study, J.D. Power said OEMs that leverage interactive content on their websites may be able to edge out their competitors.
“When searching for a vehicle on an OEM website, shoppers want to experience the vehicle as if they are walking around the vehicle or sitting in it in a dealer showroom. It’s a virtual tire kicking,” said J.D. Ney, manager, automotive research and consulting at J.D. Power, in a written release.
“The more a shopper knows about the vehicle, the greater the likelihood they will want to make the transition between the online showroom to the physical one and show up at a dealership for a test drive. This is a win-win for the shopper and the dealer,” said Ney.
Here are some of the key findings:
- Around 41 per cent of shoppers are more likely to test drive a vehicle after using a build and price tool;
- Shoppers prefer to have a 360 degree view available with fewer photos than more photos without a 360 degree view;
- If content is king, than video is the heir to the throne. Satisfaction is higher among shoppers who view a video while researching vehicle information on an OEM website than among those who did not have a video;
- Shoppers who share vehicle information on social media are more likely to share imagery, including videos (45 per cent), exterior images (43 per cent), and interior images (42 per cent).
J.D. Power ranked OEM websites according to Overall Satisfaction Rankings, based on a 1,000 point scale:
The J.D. Power 2015 Canadian Manufacturer Website Evaluation Study, which compares OEM websites during the new vehicle shopping process to other automotive ones, is based on responses from 3,304 Canadian new car shoppers from Feb.10-March 4, 2015.
