Changes in the Consumer Buying Experience

The New Consumer Buying Process

The purchase of an RV is a BIG decision, and it’s no surprise that consumers take their ultimate buying decision incredibly seriously. Not only a weighty financial decision, this next RV is also something these consumers dream about long before they ever venture into the dealership to sign the closing paperwork. After all, 76% of prospective buyers say that they'd be willing to drive more than 2 hours to purchase their next unit.

With internet users making up 88% of the US population, the path to purchase a unit has drastically changed. 86% of these consumers research extensively online before finalizing a purchase decision, spending an average of 123 days educating themselves on what the market has to offer. They want to know what a fair purchase price looks like, how these units will fit into their personal lifestyles, and which dealerships can truly meet each and every one of their needs.

With so much information available online, prospects are now turning to the internet before ever stepping foot in a dealership. 70% never actually contact a dealership prior to their initial visitation, making online listings the very first place consumers actually interact with your dealership.

Analyzing Consumers’ Online Behavior

Diving into a deeper, more comprehensive analysis of online consumer behavior is no new concept. Experts at Google have written on it extensively, with several articles published focusing specifically on the automotive industry. Just a few of these publications include:

• The Car Buying Process: One Consumer’s 900+ Digital Interactions
• The Zero Moment of Truth Automotive Study
• ZMOT: Why It Matters Now More Than Ever

Whether you refer to them as micro-moments, interactions, or connections, these behavioral patterns reflect a significant change in how buyers are choosing to shop. However, in the end, it is still what drives walk-in traffic to your dealership, and what helps attract consumers from well outside your immediate geographic location.

Using our audience of more than 4.3 million monthly motorcycle and RV consumers, we’ve chosen to look closer at how prospective buyers are connecting with our dealers and their listings in 2016, aside from phone and email leads.

The Bottom Line

What we’re seeing is clear. Consumers are connecting with our dealers now more than ever, relying on dealer listings to help them decide what unit will best fit their budget, lifestyle, and amenity needs. As we continuously track these trends, we gain the opportunity to understand the RV and powersports consumer now more than ever before.