Chicago - October 14, 2016
Cars.com ranked the highest in overall satisfaction among third-party websites in J.D. Power’s 2016 Automotive Mobile Site Study℠. This is the second time the company has earned the top spot in the study (previously in 2013), which examines the features and content of automotive manufacturer and third-party mobile websites and their usefulness in the vehicle-shopping process. This achievement coincides with Cars.com gradually unveiling a new, responsively designed website. That process will be completed later this month.
“We could not be prouder to claim the highest ranking in this year’s mobile study,” said Alex Vetter, president and chief executive officer of Cars.com. “We know consumers are using mobile more than ever during the car-shopping process. Our goal was to meet the needs of today’s shoppers by providing a responsive, seamless experience regardless of screen size or device preference. Ranking highest demonstrates that consumers like what they see and our hard work has paid off.”
Today, half of Cars.com’s site traffic comes from a mobile device. More than a year ago, the company started tracking the volume of shoppers using Cars.com from a mobile device on dealership lots, as well as the behaviors of those shoppers, with its exclusive geo-fencing technology. Using these findings, Cars.com launched Lot Insights, the first-of-its-kind analytics report that helps dealers better understand the activity behind and source of walk-in traffic, which is critical as email and phone leads become less significant to the shopping process. Since starting to track (and increasingly geo-mapping more dealerships across the country), the number of Cars.com mobile shoppers on dealership lots across the country has skyrocketed 34 percent (September 2015 to September 2016).*
“Mobile has completely changed consumer behavior,” said Vetter. “To reach and influence today’s shoppers, auto advertisers must be positioned in the right place at the right time and our Lot Insights analytics are leading the way in tracking and insights. We are the first in our space to quantify mobile shoppers on dealership lots across the country and capture their shopping behaviors.”
Cars.com scored 751 on a 1,000-point scale, up 18 points from the 2015 Automotive Mobile Site Study℠.
*Cars.com Internal Data, Omniture
About Cars.com
Cars.com is a leading digital marketplace and solutions provider for the automotive industry that connects car shoppers with sellers. Launched in 1998 and headquartered in Chicago, the Company empowers shoppers with the data, resources and digital tools needed to make informed buying decisions andseamlessly connect with automotive retailers. In a rapidly changing market, Cars.com enables dealerships and OEMs with innovative technical solutions and data-driven intelligence to better reach and influence ready-to-buy shoppers, increase inventory turn and gain market share. In 2018, Cars.com acquired Dealer Inspire®, an innovative technology company building solutions that future-proof dealerships with more efficient operations, a faster and easier car buying process, and connected digital experiences that sell and service more vehicles.
Cars.com properties include DealerRater®,Dealer Inspire®, Auto.com™, PickupTrucks.com® and NewCars.com®. For more information, visit www.Cars.com.