By the end of May, these dealers owners will sell more than $525 million worth of pre-owned cars and trucks. This, undoubtedly, makes March-May 'used car season' in New England
Although most Boston area used car dealers are small business owners, they do really big business. In all, over the next 12 months, more than 650,000 pre-owned vehicles will be driven off their lots.
To capture a larger share of the area's $1.9 billion used car market requires pre-owned vehicle dealers to advertise. By any measure, the best way for these business owners to advertise is on Boston radio.
Every week, according to Nielsen, Boston radio reaches 89.1% of all households planning to purchase a used car or truck this year. This is significantly more than are reached by local TV, newspapers, social media, or streaming audio sites like Pandora or Spotify.
According to research from Gfk/MRI, the majority of consumers who purchase used vehicles, 50.4% have household incomes of $60,000 per year or more. Boston radio is, by far, the best way to reach these big earners.
The dominance of local radio's reach extends, as well, to millennials. This generation alone will account for 38% of all used vehicle sales in the Boston area.
To compete successfully, during used car season in New England, small business owners need to start advertising now.
According to research from Cox Automotive, used car buyers are spending only 108 days in the market. This is a full one week less than in 2017.
More importantly, pre-owned vehicle buyers spend 60% of their shopping time online. This includes time visiting the websites of used car dealers.
Research conducted by Nielsen found that consumers intending to purchase a vehicle were twice as likely to visit a dealer's website after hearing a commercial on local radio than those not exposed to the ad.
Overall, the Nielsen research revealed that 13% of consumers planning to make an auto purchase did so after hearing a dealer's radio commercial. This is three times higher than those who did not hear the ad on local radio.