Everything you need to know about the car buyers’ path to purchase

A recent study reveals 38% of Americans surveyed are paying more attention to the price of goods.¹ As for one of the costliest purchases they can make, consumers’ research for auto content online has increased 22x,² signaling that in-market shoppers are keen to understand the impact tariffs and other economic factors have on their decision to purchase.  

Automotive marketers face an environment shaped by technological shifts, economic pressures, and evolving consumer behaviors. Car brands, manufacturers, and dealerships must establish connections with car buyers at the right time if they want to influence purchase decisions, especially now. 

The Trade Desk hosted “A Deep Dive Into the Evolving Automotive Purchase Journey,” a webinar aimed at helping auto marketers understand what’s affecting consumers’ purchase decisions and how to reach them effectively. The Trade Desk’s senior director of business development, Tricia Snow, and senior research and insights manager, Hailey McInnes, shared insights about how current economic uncertainty is impacting those in the market for vehicles today.

Here’s what you need to know: 

There are macroeconomic factors impacting the automotive industry:  

• 3 in 10 auto intenders are planning to delay their purchase, with some starting to explore lower price points.¹ This represents an opportunity for brands to reach new audiences who may be expanding their interest in other brands. Used and certified pre-owned car dealers may now have opportunities to reach new audiences as well. 

• 1 in 5 potential car buyers are considering models made in the U.S. vs. elsewhere.¹ This is most likely due to their view on how tariffs will affect the price of their considered vehicle. 

How car buyers are making decisions:  

• Auto intenders are 44% more likely to find advertising featuring affordability and deals helpful. Adapting your creative messaging to highlight deals, discounts, and/​or sales is critical to reaching shoppers today.¹ 

• Car shoppers have an average of five brands in their consideration set, with reliability, reputation, and quality being their top consideration priorities. These are key areas of focus for creative messaging and campaign development.³ 

What you can do to reach car shoppers along their journey to purchase:  

• Recognize that the auto path to purchase is long and complex. The shopper journey has three distinct phases: initiate, research and refine, and finalize. 

• Digital out-of-home (DOOH) billboards are 40% more likely to have the greatest influence at the initiate phase of the purchase journey.³ Consider how you might spread your media dollars to a mix of media channels that can be most effective. 

• Shoppers use an average of three sources when in the research and refinement stage of the journey. The top three channels of influence are consumer advice sites, car marketplaces, and car review sites.³ All of which are accessible via the open internet, not walled gardens. 

• Within the finalize phase of the journey, a shopper has decided they’re ready to visit a dealership to view a specific car make and model. Your ads play a key role here as 71% of car buyers say they notice ads when finalizing their decision — a notable opportunity to sway decision-making.³ 

Use these insights to take the wheel on navigating the moment  

With less certainty, taking an agile, omnichannel, data-driven approach will enable you to maximize every media dollar. Programmatic is best positioned to help you maximize reach to car-buying audiences, limit ad waste, and drive results with platform tools like frequency management and predictive clearing. To learn more, watch the full webcast recording or download our auto advertising report, Navigating the long road to purchase.

<sub>Sources: 
1. The Trade Desk Intelligence and Appinio, U.S., Economic Impact, n=500, A18+, April 7 – 14, 2025. 
2. The Trade Desk Pulse, March 13-April 6, 2025. 
3. The Trade Desk Intelligence and PA Consulting. Auto path to purchase. August 2024.</sub>