An annual survey of recent car buyers in the United States found that, between 2017 and 2021, third party websites such as CarGurus and Autotrader were consistently the most used category of websites for researching and purchasing cars. Car dealerships' websites were also popular, though their usage saw a decline in 2020 which was not observed for third party websites.
Online websites used for car shopping in the United States from 2017 to 2021, by category
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Online websites used for car shopping in the United States from 2017 to 2021, by category
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*2,976 recent vehicle buyers were surveyed in total, 1,998 of which had bought new cars and 978 had bought used cars. Results of the survey were weighted to be representative of the car-buying population. Data prior to 2021 from previous releases.
**Dealership website category includes used car dealership CarMax.
Respondents to this online survey were consumers who have purchased or leased a vehicle at some time between September 2020 and August 2021. Year of the purchased vehicle must be within the past 5 years.
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Cox Automotive. (January 14, 2022). Online websites used for car shopping in the United States from 2017 to 2021, by category [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved March 16, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1340236/websites-used-for-car-shopping-us/
Cox Automotive. "Online websites used for car shopping in the United States from 2017 to 2021, by category." Chart. January 14, 2022. Statista. Accessed March 16, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1340236/websites-used-for-car-shopping-us/
Cox Automotive. (2022). Online websites used for car shopping in the United States from 2017 to 2021, by category. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: March 16, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1340236/websites-used-for-car-shopping-us/
Cox Automotive. "Online Websites Used for Car Shopping in The United States from 2017 to 2021, by Category." Statista, Statista Inc., 14 Jan 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1340236/websites-used-for-car-shopping-us/
Cox Automotive, Online websites used for car shopping in the United States from 2017 to 2021, by category Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1340236/websites-used-for-car-shopping-us/ (last visited March 16, 2025)
Online websites used for car shopping in the United States from 2017 to 2021, by category [Graph], Cox Automotive, January 14, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1340236/websites-used-for-car-shopping-us/
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