Mobile Insights: 33% of consumers shop for autos online using mobile devices – are you reaching them?

This is the fourth post in our Mobile Insights series featuring expert views from our mobile ads team. Our guest contributor is Carrie Steele, Senior Mobile Ad Specialist at Google. Carrie shares her thoughts on mobile marketing from last week’s Think Auto 2011 (photo below), Google’s annual gathering of auto industry executives.

Nikesh Arora at Think Auto in Mountain View, CA

13 million people will fall in love with a new car this year. Most people are open to buying a car from one of several manufacturers. How will you connect with them? Increasingly, the link occurs on mobile devices.

The automobile sales funnel hasn’t really changed: it follows the path from brand awareness through consideration and purchase. But consumers are experiencing auto brands, researching cars and trucks and purchasing them in new and different ways--and mobile devices are playing an important role.

eBay sells 2,000 cars each week on mobile. And during the last Super Bowl, when Chrysler ran its TV commercial there was a spike in mobile searches. According to Google, data mobile queries on “Chrysler” increased 102 percent.(1)  Clearly, there’s a shift going on.

Many searches are happening right on dealers’ lots. In July and October 2010, 40% of AutoTrader’s users accessed AutoTrader Mobile on a dealer forecourt to find out more information about a car. This January, the percentage increased to 45% of users. When people are close to making a auto purchase, they compare makes, models, reviews and pricing, and then pull up maps to locate the dealer with the best offer. It’s a new point of purchase model for automotive.

I’m personally in the market for a new car, and I use my Android to Voice Search different makes and models. Back home, I continue my search on my tablet, looking for additional information to make an educated decision.

Although I’m a single data point, research shows I’m not alone. Last year, Google determined that over 33% of consumers went to manufacturers’ websites to shop for autos – 55% were comparing features and 44% were sizing up prices. (2)

Volvo is just one example of a company that has had great success with mobile. To promote their new S60, the Volvo team used the Google AdMob platform to target smartphone owners using a combination of banners and interactive video ads.  According to InsightExpress, Volvo achieved significant lift across the funnel including more than 240% increase in brand favorability.

To achieve results of this caliber, having a mobile-optimized site is vital. Make it easy for mobile consumers interested in purchasing a new car to learn about features, read reviews and compare pricing. Provide the ability to configure a car and schedule test drives. Use local ad targeting to immediately point out the closest dealer. Make it simple for mobile consumers to engage with you.

The bottom line: don’t be intimidated by mobile. It’s virtually the same marketing activity as always, but it’s coming from a different channel. Don't just test drive mobile as a “nice to have” add-on. It’s where consumers are, and it requires your attention if you don’t want to be left in the dust. To see what’s possible right now in mobile search for auto, check out this video.

Posted by Carrie Steele, Senior Account Executive, Mobile Search Ads


1) Internal Google research, 2010 

2) Google Auto Shopper Study, Compete June 2011.  

Mobile Insights: 33% of consumers shop for autos online using mobile devices – are you reaching them?
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