From John Glavin: "I am working on some car buying habit statistics, and the one that I am having trouble finding is The percentage of drivers who at any one time are in the market to buy. Because of the long buying cycle, that percentage is very low - but I can't get a handle on a number. Thanks!"
From Rod Schwartz: John, if your station is a member of RAB, you can go online and download their recently updated Instant Background on Auto Dealers, as well as access other research that may be helpful to you. For instance, I just looked at one table on people who are "very likely" to purchase a new or used car in the next 12 months, broken out by age, gender, and income.
65+ is the lowest at 12%; 55-64 is the next lowest at 14.4%; 25-34 is the highest at 22.5%.
That gives you at least a ballpark range. Most are white (64%) and married (49%); singles account for 33%. Quick and easy access to this kind of research across the retail and service spectrum is one of the big advantages of belonging to RAB. The figures are also available from primary sources (like the US Census Bureau), but it involves more time and effort to do the research.
Automotive News, a weekly trade magazine, is also a great resource but it's spendy for an individual subscription - a couple hundred bucks a year, if memory serves. That said, I've seen them offering $50 subscriptions periodically on their Facebook page. Maybe a local dealer would let you read his copy when he's finished with it.
Hope this helps.
