Car prices have reached record highs in 2025, prompting buyers to compare multiple brands before making a decision. Shoppers are back in motion, with the average car buyer visiting 1.6 dealerships, up 20% from Q1 2024.
With higher intent and less brand loyalty, today’s car buyers are more selective, more open to influence, and more curious than ever. For automotive marketers, this shift brings both challenges and opportunities.
This blog explores key trends in Canadian auto buyer behavior, how to meet today’s car shoppers in motion, and how Locala helps transform insight into results.
The New Buyer Journey: Insights From the Lot
It’s official: showroom-hopping is back.
70% of auto buyers visit at least one other brand before making a decision. Many are checking out 2-3 different dealerships before signing any papers.
This behavior varies widely across the country. Dealership visits differ significantly between provinces and even cities, which makes localized strategies essential. What works in Toronto may not resonate in Calgary or Vancouver. Flexibility and local relevance are key.
As buyers move closer to making a purchase, they become especially open to influence. Brands that show up with the right message at the right moment have a real opportunity to tip the scales
Even shoppers who enter the funnel with strong intent are often undecided until the very end. That’s a big opportunity for brands that remain visible, locally relevant, and well-timed in their messaging.
What This Means for Automotive Advertisers
It’s time to move beyond a one-size-fits-all approach. The most effective campaigns today blend broad reach with local agility. Brands need to meet buyers where they are, both geographically and behaviorally. Here are three strategies to stay ahead:
- Adapt to regional differences
Buyer behavior can shift dramatically between cities or even neighborhoods. Tailoring creative, targeting, and media spend by region helps increase relevance and campaign performance.
- Leverage real-time behavioral data
Knowing when and where shoppers are actively researching helps you deliver your message when intent is high and decisions are near.
- Plan around high-impact audience segments
Use audience-first planning to reach high-potential buyer groups. In Canada, top segments include:
- Adventurous Parents (Reach: 8M)
- Maintenance Clients (Reach: 800K)
- In-Market EV Shoppers (Reach: 1M)
- First-Time Buyers (Reach: 3M)
These groups aren’t just marketing personas. They represent real, actionable audiences that are actively engaging in the market.
How Locala Helps Automotive Brands Win
Locala removes the guesswork from automotive marketing by turning data into action. With over a decade of experience and a track record of more than 2,000 campaigns across 70 auto brands in 40 markets, we bring proven expertise to every partnership..
Our AI-powered Planning Tool combines location behavior data with audience insights to build smarter, more localized strategies that drive measurable results.
Here’s what sets us apart:
- Smarter audience testing drives performance.
We’ve seen visit rates increase by 2.5x when campaigns test multiple audience tactics, proving that relevance pays off. - Strategic budget optimization delivers impact.
Optimizing store-level budgets daily leads to a 30% uplift in performance, ensuring spend goes where it matters most. - Sustained campaigns = better results.
Campaigns that run for more than three weeks see up to a 20% drop in cost per visit, showing the value of consistency over time.
At Locala, planning isn’t just theoretical. It’s actionable, measurable, and built to win in today’s complex automotive landscape.
Car Buyers Are Moving Fast. Is Your Strategy Keeping Up?
Car buyers in 2025 are comparison-shopping, visiting multiple dealerships, and open to being influenced, especially when brands speak their language and meet them locally.
To reach and convert these shoppers, automotive brands need to be faster, smarter, and more precise. Locala makes that possible by turning local buyer behavior into real-time, scalable strategies.
Discover how Locala can accelerate your auto campaigns. Book a demo today.