Friction
Points Study

2024

CONNECTIONS THAT MOVE YOU

Table of Contents

03
06

2

OVERVIEWA LOOK AT
TODAY ’ S BUYERS

07

TIME STANDS STILL10WHERE DEALERS
IMPROVED

Overview

14
18

DEALERS’
STRATEGIC FOCUS

The past few years have been a roller coaster for the automotive retail industry.
Yet, at the tail end of 2023, semblances of normalcy returned for most dealerships.
Inventories were generally healthy, credit loosened slightly and interest rates
started to decline from highs that kept price-sensitive shoppers away.

M O D E R N R E TA I L’ S
IMPACT

22

WHAT ’S NEXT

24

ABOUT THIS STUDYWhen CDK fielded this year’s Friction Points report ofcar buyers and dealer respondents, the market had
already started on a new trajectory. While there were
improvements in many areas, overall, the car-buying
process is taking just as long as it did in previous
studies, and customer satisfaction continues to fallas time ticks at the dealership.

improvement almost across the board. Yet, again,
the car buyer isn’t getting into their new car any
faster than they have in the past.
The results also show pain points across the store are
improving, and more modern tools are being usedduring the sale but still by only a fraction of stores.

Dealers told us they’ve made a number ofchanges to their operations, including commission
structures and balanced headcount, and have seen3

DEMOGRAPHICS
CONSUMERSDEALERS

1,277

352

BUYE R S WHO PURCHASEDIN TH E PAST SI X M ONTHS(October - November, 2023)

DEA LER PA RTICIPA NTS(October - November, 2023)

8%
Boomer21%

59+ years

22%

DEA LERS HIP D E PA RT M E N T

DEA LERS HIP ROLE

Gen Z

18 to 26 years

Gen X

43 to 58 years

AGE

Associate

25%

BDC

8%

Department Head

53%

F&I

16%

Store Leadership

22%

Sales Department

22%

Sales Management

28%

Store Leadership

25%

20%

28%

Young
Millennial

Old Millennial

27 to 33 years

34 to 42 years

YEA RS OF EXPERIENCEG E N DE R

HOUSEHOLD I NCOM E

Male

56%

Less than $25,000

6%Female44%$25,000 to $50,000

2%$50,000 to $100,000

40%$100,000 to $200,000

26%$200,000 to $300,000

5%2 to 5 Years

14%

6 to 10 Years

18%

11 to 15 Years

16%

16 to 20 Years

12%

21 Years+

38%

4

5

4

5

A Look at Today’s Car Buyer

One of the fundamental metrics for this study is time. You can’t

TO P DECISIO N FACTO R S IN VE HI CLE SHOPPI NG
2023

Time Stands Still
make more of it or buy it. And the more time a car purchase takes

2022

to complete, the lower a dealer’s net promoter score (NPS).
This has been established in previous studies, and while dealers did make changes

47%

48%

to their operations and saw improvements in certain areas, the time it took didn’t
improve. Last year, 55% of buyers said they spent under two hours at the dealer.
This year, that number retreated slightly to 54%. Forty-six percent of buyers said it
took longer than two hours, which was the same as last year.

22% 23%
11%

14%

19%
10%

We asked dealers the same question. Even though there’s still a great disparity
between dealers who think it takes over three hours to complete a sale, the overall
results were almost identical to last year as well.

Price

EffortRelationship

Guidance

TIME S HOPPERS S PENT AT THE DEA LERS HIP
2023

2022

3%
Price is the biggest factor motivating car buyers.
And that barely changed this year, falling from 48%

15%

36%

26%

12%

8%

30 Min – 1 Hr

1 – 2 Hrs

2 – 3 Hrs

3 – 4 Hrs

4+ Hrs

18%

34%

25%

13%

8%

30 Min – 1 Hr

1 – 2 Hrs

2 – 3 Hrs

3 – 4 Hrs

4+ Hrsto 47%. Other considerations didn’t change mucheither, but one element that did see a big jump —from 10% to 19% — was the number of respondents< 30 Minwho said the top factor was the need for guidance
through the process.
This trend isn’t new and has been a trendline across
CDK research in recent months and years. Today’s car

3%buyers, especially the youngest among them, wantto learn during their purchase journey. A number of
Gen Z respondents used the word “knowledgeable”
to describe their interactions with dealership staff
and one specifically appreciated being treated withrespect despite their age.
6

< 30 Min

7

NPS Scores and Satisfaction
on the MoveS HOPPER RECOMMENDATION A ND NET PROMOTER S CO R E
Based on Total Time Spent at the Dealership
Promoters

There was a dynamic change when it came to how

While shoppers didn’t reward for a fasterthe amount of time spent buying a car impacted

turnaround as much as last year, they also

customer satisfaction and the NPS score compared

didn’t inflict as much damage on the dealers

to last year.

who took the longest. Last year, taking more

While dealers were still rewarded with higher
satisfaction and NPS scores the faster a deal wascompleted, these numbers changed significantly
from last year. If the total time spent was between

Passives

Detractors

than four hours would’ve led to only 31% of

NPS SCOR ES

buyers saying they’d promote the dealershipand an NPS score of just +3. This year, thosenumbers significantly improved to 43% and +31.

+56

+46

+48

+40

+31

62%

55%

53%

49%

43%

one to two hours last year, 63% of buyers consideredthemselves promoters of the dealership and the
NPS score was +54. This year, those numbers fell
to 55% and +46 respectively.

45%
35%

“ While shoppers didn’t reward for a faster turnaround

42%

43%

30%

as much as last year, they also didn’t inflict as much”damage on the dealers who took the longest.

8

8%

9%

Under 1 Hr

1 – 2 Hrs5%
2 – 3 Hrs8%
3 – 4 Hrs

12%

4+ Hrs9

Where Dealers Improved
Shoppers report improvements in reducing salesperson wait time foralmost all the steps of the buying process other than credit application.
One of the most significant pain points for car

There was an even larger drop in the number ofbuyers is simply waiting for the next step of thepeople who waited to sign contracts, falling fromprocess. They have to wait to take a test drive.

39% to 24% this year. The addition of digital signing

Then they have to wait for price and trade-in

tools likely had an impact there, which becomesnegotiations and, of course, the F&I Manager

evident later in this report.

before finally taking delivery. Add it all up andyou understand why the total time hasn’tchanged much.

And while the trend of improved inventory
availability helped on vehicle selection, the tighter
credit market had the opposite effect on applying

However, when asked about each point separately,

for credit. This year, 35% of buyers had to wait on thebuyers said they waited less time in a number ofcredit application process, up from just 25% last year.

VSareas compared to last year. Not surprisingly, one of
the biggest drops was the amount of time waiting
around vehicle selection, falling from 37% last year to
29% this year. Clearly, the availability of more cars in

The number of people who

The number of people who

waited to sign contracts in 2023

waited to sign contracts in 2022

inventory helped move that number.

P OI NTS IN T HE SAL E S J O U R N EY WHERE THE
S HO PPE R WA IT E D FOR T H E SALESPERSONPRICE NEGOTIATIONVEHICLE SELECTIONFINANCING

CONTRACT SIGNING
AND TITLINGINCENTIVE AND
REBATESTEST DRIVECREDITAPPLICATIONTRADE-IN

2023

39%

29%

27%

24%

22%

41%

35%

21%

2022

48%

37%

33%

39%

24%

40%

25% 20%10

11

TIME S PENT WA ITING FOR THE F& I MA NAG ER
2023

F&I Waits See Massive Improvement

2022

NPS

+61

This year, buyers also spent significantly less time waiting to see the F&I Manager.
The number of people who had to wait more than 30 minutes fell from 59% last year
to 37% this year. And that was with a significant reduction in F&I headcount from 4.4
employees to 2.2 employees per store.

+47
H OW MAN Y BUYE R S
WA I T E D 3 0 + MIN UTE S
FO R T H E F& I MAN AGE R

+40

2022

59%

37%

+41
+35
33%

32%

2023

30%

23%

22%
11%

10%

8%

8%
1%

Less Than 10 Min

10 – 15 Min

15 – 30 Min

30 – 45 Min

45 – 60 Min

There was a surge in the number of people who waited less than 10 minutes, which iswhere NPS scores remain high at +61. Even if a buyer’s wait is between 10 and 15 minutes,
that NPS score drops to +47. Just this one factor can dramatically impact overall NPS
scores. However, in a separate CDK study on the F&I department, buyers didn’t have anegative view of the F&I process based on longer wait times. It seems buyers aren’t
blaming F&I but they’re dinging the entire store.
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13

Dealers’ Strategic Focus
Delivering a positive customer experience is a talking point acrossthe automotive retail industry, and dealer respondents continue
to rank it as their top strategy, yet again, moving forward in 2024.
Other areas all seemed to fall more significantly

Over time, dealerships have reduced Sales representative

than customer experience, especially those related

headcount by improving processes, incorporating new

to inventory acquisition and reduced staffing.

technologies and responding to a high-demand market.

rank customer experience as their most important

In fact, this year, dealership headcount and

The reduction in Sales staff has only slightly reduced sales

focus, which fell from 77% to 74% this year.

alignment are nearly identical to what eachper headcount and a majority of dealers say there’s thewere in 2019 before the pandemic.

same time spent on sales activities as last year. Only 14%

However, the numbers are slightly weaker this year.
There were drops both in terms of total responses,
which fell from 89% to 84% this year, and in those who

say there’s less time to sell than last year, up slightly from
11% in 2022.

WHAT ST R ATEGIE S DE AL E R S PL AN TO I M PLEM ENT I N 2024
2023

DEA LERS HIP HEA DCOUNT RETURNS TO NORMA L

2022

84%

89%

Increased Focus on
Customer Experience

36%

66%

Focus on Acquiring Inventory
from Customers Directly57%

Address Reduced
Inventory on their Lot
14

82%

15%

64%

70%
INTERNET/BDC

SALES
REPRESENTATIVE

SALES MANAGER

F&I MANAGER

Before COVID

2.4

10.1

2.9

2.1

2022

4.5

11.3

5.2

4.4

Current

2.4

9.3

2.9

2.2

Use of Digital RetailingWith Customers

30%

Reduce Staffing Due to
Efficiency Gains
15

Spending on technology has dropped and sales is spending

Renewed Focus on Leads

more time at the dealership as conditions begin to return topre - COVID operations.

With gradual improvement in inventory supply, Sales isputting less emphasis than they did in 2022 on finding
inventory they could sell and spending more time following
up on inactive leads. The return of more normal inventory
levels has shifted how Sales teams spend their time when

CHA NG ES MA DE TO IMPROVE STA F F PRODUCTIVITY
2023

2022

not actively selling. They’re now following up on leads more
and using equity mining tools more frequently.
The staff itself has also seen changes, especially to theircommission structure. None of these shifts seem to be
outwardly positive for salespeople but are most likely areturn to previous norms.

WHAT A RE D E AL E R SAL E S T E AM S
D O I N G WH EN N OT SE L L ING CA RS?
2023

40%

52%

21%

41%

We Have Brought In More Technology

Front-Line Staff Is Spending Fewer

To Improve Productivity

Hours at the Dealership Than Before
To Improve Work/Life Balance

2022

34%
Following Up On
Inactive Leads

Using Equity
Mining Tools To
Find Opportunity

51%

15%

19%

AcquiringMore Inventory

87%
52%

10%

We Have Made Changes

We Have Improved

To Our Commission Plans

Our Benefits Plans

9%

22%

84%
16

17

Modern Retail’s Impact
Similar to some of the gains car buyers saw in this year’s report,
dealers also reported a number of improvements in terms of pain

S A LES MA NAG ER PA IN P OINTS

points across their Sales, Internet and Business Development
2023

Center (BDC) teams and in the F&I office.
This is despite fewer dealers saying they’re using
digital retailing tools to support sales falling from
84% to 77% this year. But far more dealers arebringing their digital retailing tools directly into
the showroom, and not just relegating them to theirwebsite only. More than a third (36%) now say they’re36%
of dealers say they’re now using
digital retail tools in the showroom.

using these tools for deal presentations, which is up
from 30% last year.

The F&I Manager’s role also isn’t immune fromTechnology can often become a roadblock insteadof an advantage when it comes to the day-to-day
sales operations of a dealership. This year, there werealso far fewer reports of issues when it came to these

37% this year, there are still those who say a lack of fullsystems integration remains a pain point for them.

In fact, every pain point saw an improvement

coordination across multiple signing systems is still

13% this year from 45%, but nearly a third (31%) say

And while it doesn’t allow for a comparison, it did
rank near the back of the pack for managers.

30%

Lack of full systems integration(Digital Retailing, CRM, DMS)

28%

35%

36%
35%

Lack of time to effectively
coach the Sales team

46%

There’s considerably less worry about the availabilityof documents for e-signature, which dropped toa new pain point around reliability of systems.

Rekeying of information
between systems

technological roadblocks. And while this improved tosystems from managers or sales agents.

compared to last year. This year’s study did include

2022

16%

Important documents notavailable for e-signature25%

an issue and is up from 27% last year. In fact, 61% of
F&I Managers say they use more than four systems tocomplete their jobs. That’s more than any other partof variable operations.

34%

Checking and verifying thecorrect incentives to apply

36%
27%

Inaccurate information quoted online(taxes, fees, rebates and others)

23%
18%

Inconsistent data between systems(inventory, pricing, etc.)

TOP PA IN P OINTSFOR D EAL E RSHIP
E M PLOYEE S

Deals piling up at the desk without
sufficient time to work each efficiently

Poor reliability of systems

18

SALES
MANAGERSALES
REPRESENTATIVE

24%
7%
9%
14%

F&I
MANAGER
19

S AL E S R E PR E SE NTATIVE PAI N POI NTS

F& I MA NAG ER PA IN P OINTS

2023

2023

2022

38%

Duplicate leadsin the CRM

49%
26%

Not empowered topencil/adjust deals

37%

29%

Rekeying of information
between systems

13%
45%

37%

Lack of systems integration (CRM,
Menus, DMS, Digital Retailing)

36%

34%

Ensuring compliance

36%

22%
25%
26%

Waiting for the desk manager

24%

Retrieval of all necessary documents
across multiple systems

30%

34%
25%

Inability to see what customers have done
online such as shopping and deal structure

31%

Coordination across multiple
signing systems

27%

30%
16%

26%

Inaccurate information quoted online(taxes, fees, rebates and others)

17%
20%

Inefficient handoff to F&I

20Important documents notavailable for e-signature

21%

Lack of full systems operation(Digital Retailing, CRM, DMS)

Important documents notavailable for e-signature

2022

32%

Inconsistent data between systems(inventory, pricing, etc.)

17%

Inaccurate information quoted online(taxes, fees, rebates and others)

18%

21%

Lack of real-timeloan approval

Poor reliability of systems

29%

17%
26%

14%

24%

21

What’s Next
1

TIME IS TRICKY
If the industry knows that time is detrimental tothe customer experience, why hasn’t there been
an improvement in total time despite specificgains across multiple functions of the process?
Could seemingly simple steps, like the test drive andtaking delivery, really be dragging down all the hard
work put in during a deal? And if so, shouldn’t thesebe an easy fix? The answer at each store is likely
unique, but this shows that every part of the

The results in this report are generally very encouraging,car buying journey is an important one.

especially as the industry braces for what could be elevatedrobust sales in 2024. As the volume of sales goes up, dealers
can identify some of the pain points in this report that exist
in their own stores and develop strategies to address them.

2

STAFFING FOCUS
Every part of the car buying process relies on
people. Technology can certainly make their work
more efficient, but if the right person with the righttraining isn’t in the right place at the right time
for the customer, it can impact their experience.
Today’s strong economy makes hiring and retentiondifficult for any business. And this study’s results
regarding changes to commission structure,less focus on work-life balance and even a dip in
improving benefits highlight how the dealership
might be less attractive to employees andpotential hires.

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23

ABOUT THIS STUDYCDK is focused on connecting dealers with their customers tocontinuously improve this pivotal relationship. The Friction Points
study is our guiding light each year that highlights the success andsetbacks in the car buying process and establishes the landscapefor much of the exploration produced by our research and content
teams throughout the year.

PETER KAHNCDK Head of ResearchWith over 20 years of experience in researching all aspects of the automotive
retail industry, Peter’s work is focused mainly on how dealerships and brands
can improve efficiencies and meet the changing needs of the vehicle buyer
and service consumer.

WANT MORE
INSIGHTS?
Visit the Insights Center for the latest thought
leadership from CDK. From research to blogs,
let us help you aim higher with industry insightsthat take your dealership to the next level.

As the Senior Director of the CDK Research and Insights group since 2015,
Peter has produced work that covers a range of topics, such as Artificial Intelligence in the Dealership, Women in Automotive, the State of the Automotive
Retail Industry, Job Seekers in Automotive Retail and many more that help
inform decision-makers in our industry.

CDK.COM/Insights
ROHINI TRIPATHI
Study Lead Researcher
Rohini Tripathi is a Senior Market Research Analyst at CDK. She has nearly
10 years of experience in research with global organizations spanning
different industries such as media and entertainment, CPG and automotive
retail. At CDK, Rohini works on various research initiatives for the Product,
Technology and Marketing teams and provides insights and analysis to help
make business-related decisions.

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