Cars.com BIG DROP since new design?

[joe.pistell]

Great work Skutch, watch how user stories define breaks in workflow...

When I've asked customers (friends, family, etc) about why they don't just click the button on car shopping sites, I hear:

• I didn't want to lose my place on the website I was on (scanning a list of vehicles), and I can always visit the dealer website later.

Observation: Shopper is deep in aggregator* experience, car dealer isn't important (yet)...

(Uncle Joe Rule #14: "Car Shoppers make two big decisions, #1 Which Car & #2 Which Store... in that order!)​

Aggregator Solution: None. No workflow gap here. Move on...​

• I wanted to see if the price was the same on the dealer's website, so I googled their name and found the actual vehicle to see if the prices match.

Observation: Shopper is (#1) interested in the car on the classified site and (#2) now is looking at price and (#3) is left to assume they have to google the dealer. Ouch. IOW, when the shopper finally comes around to wanting to see the dealer's site, the link to the dealer's site isn't in a place that the shopper sees (i.e. nested closely to the price).

Aggregator Solution: BAM! A workflow gap identified. We see that price is a 'catalyst' to go to a Dealer's site. Any other catalysts? For example, When Shopper has a car that is a 'finalist', what does a shopper want to do to move forward? What are their questions? What share of the questions are dealer discovery thoughts? What share is related to Finance? etc... Where are they on the UI? etc...​

• I wanted to google the dealer name and pull up the same vehicle (also keep the same window open on the other website) to compare things.

• Google the dealer name and to see if the car was still in stock.

Observation: Shopper wants to move the buying work off the aggregator and closer to the store. This is a natural progression the car shopper has visualized from the beginning of the shopping journey (i.e. ROBO)

Aggregator Solution: BAM! A workflow gap identified. Let's call this "the hand off" (from aggregator to dealer). Shoppers see the workflow outside the aggregator, so, they make their own. Solutions need to deeply understand this 'hand off' and optimize it.​

That was fun!
Joe

*aggregator = 3rd party classified sits like AT, Cars.com, Gurus, etc

 

[joe.pistell]

#TOTALLYNAILEDIT

I think this is a reason why our websites look like they're crushing it, they get to the site and then fill out a form. Which give us the feeling that maybe we don't need 3rd party websites. Online attribution in this business is like ghost hunting.

 

[Alexander Lau]

Interesting skutch, keep us in the loop.

-----SIDEBAR-----


It amazes me how few car shoppers visit car dealer websites via 3rd party aggregator VDP links. Also, It's fascinating how this disconnect does not happen with other aggregators like Kayak(air travel) or Zillow(real estate).

For insights, juxtapose this evidence against the survey-at-delivery where car buyers claim they were on the dealer's site multiple times and many buyers recall being on AT, Cars & Gurus. Why aren't MORE shoppers visiting dealer's sites via the VDP link? The shopper is telling us "why go to the dealer's site? I find no reason to go now", or, "I kept seeing cars from 'SomeDealersName' on the aggregator(s), so I googled that dealer (a SRP experience).

My instincts are telling me there's an 'undiscovered disconnect in car shopper workflow' that's not being addressed with AT, Cars & Gurus. Possibly, Jasen's platform may help bridge this disconnect.

"It amazes me how few car shoppers visit car dealer websites via 3rd party aggregator VDP links. Also, It's fascinating how this disconnect does not happen with other aggregators like Kayak(air travel) or Zillow(real estate)." "Why aren't MORE shoppers visiting dealer's sites via the VDP link?"

Yes, I would agree with you.

 

[Chris Cachor]

FWIW, I'm one of those people that used to search Cars.com but dropped out due to frustration. I'll stick to Motominer

Facebook learned the hard way of rolling out major UI changes all at once. I wouldn't be surprised if Cars.com is seeing the same sort of behavior of users dropping out of frustration. Unlike Facebook, Cars.com users have many other options available.

For a high traffic consumer site - slowly introducing features of the new design and replacing the old would have, to me, been a better part of their roll out plan.

As far as the new site design, I think it works well on tablets and is decent on phones. Not a fan of it for desktops, though.

 

[metacort3x]

// lurks //