Automobile Purchasing Services
The most active are.as of the early Internet e-tailing boom was in automobile buying services. At one time (late 1999), there were at least 11 different web sites where a customer could order a car online (with some variations in the process): CarsDirect.com, Autobytel.com, Cars.com, DriveOff.com, CarPoint.com, carOrder.com, Autoweb.com, DealerNet.com, carclub.com, and Greenlight.com.
However, by 2005, the industry had changed dramatically. According to J.D. Power and Associates, about two-thirds of new car buyers use the Internet as part of the shopping process. They do not purchase the cars online, though, as the business model for the Internet auto sites has changed. The three major online car malls-CarsDirect.com, Autobytel.com, and Cars. com-generate the bulk of their revenues by referring customers to local dealers. For example, Autobytel delivered 1 million leads to dealers in the first quarter of 2005. Other sites such as ConsumerReports.org, Edumunds.com, and KellyBlueBook.com, also have dealer referral services but are differentiated from the malls in terms of the rich information they provide to prospective buyers such as product reviews.
The most active are.as of the early Internet e-tailing boom was in automobile buying services. At one time (late 1999), there were at least 11 different web sites where a customer could order a car online (with some variations in the process): CarsDirect.com, Autobytel.com, Cars.com, DriveOff.com, CarPoint.com, carOrder.com, Autoweb.com, DealerNet.com, carclub.com, and Greenlight.com.
However, by 2005, the industry had changed dramatically. According to J.D. Power and Associates, about two-thirds of new car buyers use the Internet as part of the shopping process. They do not purchase the cars online, though, as the business model for the Internet auto sites has changed. The three major online car malls-CarsDirect.com, Autobytel.com, and Cars. com-generate the bulk of their revenues by referring customers to local dealers. For example, Autobytel delivered 1 million leads to dealers in the first quarter of 2005. Other sites such as ConsumerReports.org, Edumunds.com, and KellyBlueBook.com, also have dealer referral services but are differentiated from the malls in terms of the rich information they provide to prospective buyers such as product reviews.
Posted in: Business
0 comments:
Post a Comment