Visiting 1 Store a Key Factor in Buyer Satisfaction

Key Takeaways 

• The more people who visit just one store, the higher the Ease of Purchase Score.
• In 2025, 41% of buyers visited just one store up from 34% in 2024.
• Inventory, salespeople and digital tools are critical drivers of one-stop shopping.

The CDK Ease of Purchase Scorecard tracks a number of factors driving satisfaction for car buyers each month. One thing that’s become apparent after years of inventory struggles is that more people are completing their purchase by visiting just one dealership. 

That number has steadily increased from 32% in 2023 to 34% in 2024 to a significantly higher 41% in 2025. The highest month we’ve reported was 49% in November of 2025. 

The first few months of 2026 seemed to be building on this trend with 44% in February and 43% in March sticking to a single store for their deal before falling to 37% in April. These numbers generally follow the overall Ease of Purchase Score, which hit 88% in March before falling back to 81% in April. 

Clearly, dealerships are doing a lot right if more than four out of 10 customers choose not to shop around and over 80% say it was easy. Yet, according to the latest CDK Friction Points Study, nearly half of customers are still reluctant to recommend the dealership to friends and family.

What’s Inventory Got To Do With It?

One reason a shopper doesn’t need to leave the lot is that the car they want is right in front of them. Looking back at February and March the number of people who bought the car they wanted in stock was 44%, and 43% respectively leading to higher propensity to visit just one store. This trend was apparent throughout 2025 as well with six months showing clear correlation between these two points and only two months clearly diverging. 

The Spotlight Shines on Car Salespeople

While friction stubbornly clings in a few steps, namely pricing negotiations and F&I delays, salespeople are a bright spot. As we covered in our first quarterly Salesperson Performance report, dealership salespeople are getting better when interacting with their customers. 

For many buyers, the human connection and existing relationships helped seal the deal. “I went back to the dealership where I already knew the salesperson,” one buyer stated while another said, “I went to my reliable dealership where I was known and knew the salesman.”

Online Tools Drive One-Stop Car Shopping

Transparent online tools are also a factor in the one-dealership trend. Buyers continue to turn to shopping and dealership websites to narrow down vehicle choice, compare pricing and check real-time inventory, before they step on a showroom floor. There’s little reason to shop around if a dealership checks all the boxes online. 

As one buyer put it, “Online tools let me check models and prices in advance. By the time I got to the dealership, everything was ready.” Another said, “It was easy navigating online because there was a lot of personalization in the process. I then advanced to visit the dealership and they were welcoming throughout the process.”

Why’s Dealership NPS Falling Despite Easier Purchases?

If customers are finding the process easy — and often sticking with one dealership — why are they reluctant to recommend the experience? A couple key factors may help explain the disconnect. First, neutral seems to be the new negative. One of the most surprising findings in our Friction Points Study was the small gap between neutral buyers (with an average NPS of -22) and dissatisfied buyers (with an average NPS of -19). Only truly satisfied buyers awarded positive scores. That means anything short of a great experience is actively hurting dealerships. 

Another factor is that broader economic anxiety is dragging down buyer sentiment. The University of Michigan reported that its consumer sentiment index fell to 47.6 in April 2026, the lowest in its 74-year history. With inflation concerns and global uncertainty in the background, buyers may feel uneasy, even if the transaction itself goes smoothly.

What This Means for Dealerships

Car buying is becoming more efficient and more consolidated. Customers are doing their homework up-front, visiting fewer stores, and often completing their purchase in a single stop. The key seems to be tied to having the right inventory in stock.

But inventory alone doesn’t create promoters. Until dealerships turn easy transactions into memorable experiences, NPS will continue to lag behind actual buying behavior. 

Closing the gap by continuing to eliminate time-based friction, pushing beyond easy to exceptional and doubling down on relationship-building, are all good strategies as the year progresses.