PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a
recent survey of online vehicle shoppers by Chrome Systems, Inc., a
subsidiary of DealerTrack Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRAK) and a
leader in managing automotive data, automotive retailing sites can
increase brand awareness and attract more shoppers with a savvy mix
of robust research tools backed up by social networking.
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Brand loyalty has dropped among automobile buyers, and as a
result, it is more important than ever for manufacturer, dealer and
third-party sites to find alternative ways to stay connected with
existing customers and to reach out to new potential buyers.
The late 2010 survey results of potential buyers and
purchasers show only 35 percent wanted to purchase the same brand
of vehicle they owned previously, dropping from 39 percent in
2009.
The survey reports a rapidly growing number of potential vehicle
buyers are turning to website tools such as side-by-side vehicle
comparison of pricing and configurations to make educated decisions
(31 percent in 2010 vs. 14 percent in 2009 used side-by-side
comparison tools). In addition, 20 percent of surveyed
consumers who purchased or leased a vehicle in the past 12 months
have used social networking sites to research or get opinions on a
vehicle.
"A vehicle is a big ticket item, and having the right balance of
hard facts and third-party opinions is of growing importance when
making an informed vehicle decision," said Amit Maheshwari, general manager, DealerTrack
Data Services.
"Moving into 2011, we firmly believe that comprehensive research
tools that let the consumer build, price, compare and review will
be crucial to the vehicle buying decision, and social networking
sites will increasingly become a viable channel to augment that
research," adds Maheshwari.
About Chrome (www.chrome.com)
Chrome Systems, Inc., provides vehicle content, software,
technology and services to deliver complete enterprise solutions to
all segments of the automotive retail industry. Chrome
pioneered the technology behind electronic vehicle configuration
with the introduction of PC Carbook, and since 1986 has collected,
analyzed and enhanced "raw" automotive data from all manufacturers.
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking and Cautionary
Statements
Statements in this press release regarding factors crucial to
the vehicle buying decision and any conclusions or statements based
thereon, and all other statements in this release other than the
recitation of historical facts are forward-looking statements (as
defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995).
These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and
other factors that could cause actual results, performance or
achievements of DealerTrack to be materially different from any
future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
these forward-looking statements.
Factors that might cause such a difference include economic
conditions, consumer preferences and other risks listed in our
reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),
including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending
December 31, 2009. These filings can
be found on DealerTrack's website
at www.dealertrack.com and the SEC's website
at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements included herein
speak only as of the date hereof and DealerTrack disclaims any
obligation to revise or update such statements to reflect events or
circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events or circumstances.
TRAK-G
SOURCE Chrome Systems, Inc.