Good Credit Doesn’t Make Car Shoppers Less Payment — Conscious, FlexPath DXP Study Finds
For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below: Good Credit Doesn’t Make Car Shoppers Less Payment-Conscious, FlexPath DXP Study Finds Prime and Super Prime shoppers used Shop-By-Payment about as often as Subprime shoppers Shopping by monthly payment isn’t just a Subprime behavior, according to the inaugural FlexPath DXP Automotive Shopper Credit & Payment Behavior Study. It analyzed observed behavior of 4,773 identity-verified, credit-tiered vehicle shoppers at participating dealerships from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, 2026. Key findings 8 in 10 Prime and Super Prime shoppers used Shop-By-Payment to shop by monthly budget, about as often as Subprime shoppers (78% vs. 80%). They were nearly 1.5 times as likely to prequalify for a specific vehicle (44% vs. 30%). 81% of their single-vehicle prequalifications began on search-results or vehicle-detail pages, versus 7.5% on finance pages. After prequalifying for a specific vehicle, 81.5% of Prime and Super Prime shoppers went on to use Shop-By-Payment (Subprime: 76.0%). 1 in 4 payment-shopping sessions began between 9 PM and 8 AM dealer-local time. “Prime shoppers aren’t just asking, ‘Can I get approved?’” said Tar
For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below: Good Credit Doesn’t Make Car Shoppers Less Payment-Conscious, FlexPath DXP Study Finds Prime and Super Prime shoppers used Shop-By-Payment about as often as Subprime shoppers Shopping by monthly payment isn’t just a Subprime behavior, according to the inaugural FlexPath DXP Automotive Shopper Credit & Payment Behavior Study. It analyzed observed behavior of 4,773 identity-verified, credit-tiered vehicle shoppers at participating dealerships from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, 2026.
Key findings 8 in 10 Prime and Super Prime shoppers used Shop-By-Payment to shop by monthly budget, about as often as Subprime shoppers (78% vs. 80%). 5 times as likely to prequalify for a specific vehicle (44% vs. 30%).
5% on finance pages. 0%). 1 in 4 payment-shopping sessions began between 9 PM and 8 AM dealer-local time. ’” said Tarry Shebesta, CEO of FlexPath DXP.
“They’re asking what a specific vehicle will cost them each month. 5% used payment-shopping experiences rather than relying on general prequalification alone. These findings describe verified shoppers who engaged with the experiences, not all dealership website visitors. “Payment transparency isn’t payment selling,” said Shebesta, who also serves as president of the National Vehicle Leasing Association (NVLA).
“Whether a shopper leases or finances, a personalized payment should be presented alongside the vehicle price, APR, term, total cost and required disclosures. S. vehicle shoppers. No dealership, dealer group or lender is identified.
Future research may examine how income, demographics, credit profiles and vehicle preferences relate to shopping behavior. Read the full FlexPath DXP Automotive Shopper Credit & Payment Behavior Study About FlexPath DXP FlexPath DXP provides dealer digital-retailing experiences powered by VeriQual™ verified-consumer data. The study’s data come from dealerships using FlexPath experiences; readers should weigh the findings with that relationship in mind. 5757