PureCars, the leading customer data and marketing platform for automotive dealers, announced today new data and insights regarding dealers’ knowledge of third-party cookie deprecation, customer database health, and using first-party data for targeted marketing, as well as familiarity with Customer Data Platform (CDP) technology.

PureCars commissioned an online survey to retail executives in March 2023. The respondents represented franchise dealerships across the U.S. Key survey insights include:

Google’s cookie deprecation:

• 58% of dealers were unaware or unsure of Google’s plans to eliminate cookies in 2024
• 55% were either unfamiliar or only moderately aware of how a cookieless landscape would affect their ability to target potential customers
• 65% had some level of concern about how this will affect their digital advertising performance

Database health for targeted marketing:

• 55% of dealers believe that a quarter or more of their customer database is targeted with marketing that’s not relevant to them due to inaccurate data
• Only 13% felt their DMS was populated with clean data
• 89% were cleaning/appending their customer data on a quarterly basis, or lesser frequency
• 44% indicated they were manually appending their CRM with updated customer information

Customer Data Platforms:

• 46% of dealers are familiar with CDPs
• 34% said they feel their dealership needs a CDP and 45% said they are unsure
• 65% admit they do not understand or are unsure about the differences between a CDP and a CRM

“This survey has given us a strong indication that dealers may be unaware and unprepared for how a cookieless landscape will affect their digital advertising strategy,” said Aaron Sheeks, President at PureCars. “This is a critical time for dealers to focus on optimizing their first-party data, and working with a partner that’s ahead of the impending changes and can meet all of their data and advertising needs.”

With the demise of third-party cookies for collecting customer data, the Customer Data Survey indicates there is great potential for dealers to reshape their marketing strategy — bringing the importance of clean first-party data to the forefront. This data is owned by the dealership and collected directly from consumers through interactions with a dealership’s website, other digital properties, or in-person interactions. 

An analysis of the survey results led PureCars to create a guide outlining actionable insights for dealers to overcome these data challenges. To download the white paper, 5 MARKETING CHALLENGES DEALERS CAN SOLVE WITH A CUSTOMER DATA PLATFORM, click here.