If the past couple of years have taught us anything, it’s that the automotive market can change significantly in a short period of time. That’s why, for the fifth year in a row, CarGurus has analyzed the path to purchase of over 3,000 car buyers to offer an in-depth look at today’s consumer journey. For the first-time ever, we're also exploring the path-to-sale to better understand how current market dynamics have impacted both the car-buying and car-selling experience for consumers.

Key findings include:

A lasting behavioral shift

Buyers are returning to some pre-pandemic behaviors, but it's clear the path to purchase has permanently shifted. Walk-in dealer visits are up significantly (33%, up from 28% in 2021), but online outreach as a first form of contact remains higher than pre-pandemic and interest in digital retail products has grown.

Key takeaway: Ensure your sales process works equally well for in-person, digital, and hybrid shoppers.

Getting it started at home

While plenty of buyers are still interested in online buying (59%are open to the idea), more are interested in a hybrid approach that combines digital and in-store. 70% of buyers would prefer to do more from home, up from 60% in 2021. Online financing has the highest appeal: 56% of buyers would prefer to arrange financing online.

Key takeaway: Support online shoppers with more digital retail tools - especially financing applications.

Making it easy makes shoppers happy

Buyer satisfaction remains strong despite high prices. With car prices high, buyers were more likely to enter the market out of necessity (68%, up from 62% in 2021) and therefore be in a rush to buy (32%, up from 25% in 2021). Yet despite paying higher prices, 80% of buyers still felt good or great about their deal. An easy purchasing process was the number one reason buyers said they got a great deal.

Key takeaway: The smoother you can make the shopping process, the higher your customer satisfaction.

To uncover many more insights into today's shoppers, download the full CarGurus 2022 Consumer Insight Report below.