Of the time spent in the car buying process, 60 percent – 5 hours and 12 minutes – is allocated to using third-party sites or apps to research and shop online, according to the inaugural Car Buyer Journey study commissioned by Autotrader and conducted by IHS Automotive. The study found that of the 88 percent of shoppers using the Internet for vehicle shopping, 78 percent use third-party sites or apps during the car buying process. Consumers that research or shop on the Internet use Autotrader or Kelley Blue Book 73 percent of the time.

"The study findings reinforce why it is so important for dealers to communicate on experience in addition to product and price," said Jared Rowe, president, Cox Automotive Media. "Dealers have less than a 30 percent chance of changing a purchase decision once a customer is on the lot. Today, car shopping is all about matchmaking – uniting sellers and buyers online. To create a perfect match, dealers should communicate a differentiator that represents their unique value so that consumers can easily identify dealers that offer the specific car shopping experience they desire."

In fact, 71 percent of consumers say that they purchased the vehicle they initially intended to purchase once they visited a dealership. However, when starting the shopping process, 6 in 10 consumers say they are open to considering vehicles across makes and models.

Room for improvement in car buying journey

The Autotrader Car Buyer Journey study uncovered some areas that can be improved to benefit consumers throughout the car shopping and buying experience.

• Dealership experience – When asking consumers that research or shop on the Internet about their dealership experience, 46 percent say they visited a single dealership, and 52 percent drove only one vehicle. On average, consumers visit 2.7 dealerships. The main frustrations for consumers at the dealership are filling out paperwork and contracts followed by negotiating the purchase or lease. Combined, these two steps accounted for 55 percent of the time spent at the dealership. Additionally, dealership satisfaction suffers as more people get involved with satisfaction dropping near 20 points if the consumer has to interact with four or more people at the dealership.

• Mobile device usage – Prior to purchasing a vehicle, 46 percent of respondents that are Internet users access automotive information using their smartphones. Of all buyers, 23 percent used a smartphone to do research or shop while at a dealership. The top five uses of a mobile device at a dealership are: comparing prices for vehicles at other dealerships (59 percent); finding prices for vehicles at the dealership where the consumer was (41 percent); comparing inventory at other dealerships (38 percent); check inventory at the dealership where the consumer was (36 percent); and research trade-in pricing (33 percent).