SHOPSMART AUTOS – CUSTOMER INFORMATION – DECEMBER 10, 2020
COVID-era car buying habits here to stay
Vehicle trade-ins and financing are arguably two of the most complicated components of the car-buying process that in the past have prevented a simple “add to cart” and “check out” option. Now, getting a trade-in estimate is as easy as inputting your vehicle information and clicking a button for an instant offer. Financing can also be done quickly and easily through online calculators that break down costs. Interestingly, financing also is going mainstream in e-commerce with services that allow consumers to make monthly payments on products rather than completing an entire transaction at once, demonstrating there’s a market for e-commerce financing beyond the auto industry. As consumers get more accustomed to financing with a click of their iPhone, they are beginning to not only get comfortable with doing the same for a larger transaction such as a vehicle, but they expect the same speed and convenience that most online finance and insurance options can’t yet provide. We’re also seeing more successful e-commerce programs borrowing the trade-in model, whether for fashion or laptops, opening the floodgates for more usage and even a preference for the sophisticated digital vehicle trade-in process available today. Trading in a car is by no means as simple as trading in clothes, but with development in auto retail technology, it’s making significant advancements. Dealers putting stock into digital retailing solutions such as the ones mentioned above will continue to see the benefits as time goes on and more consumers seek a virtual car-buying experience, especially with more than 60 percent of shoppers wanting to do more of the purchase steps online compared with the last time they bought a vehicle. The results of having these tools are staggering. For example, independent dealers who have digital retailing solutions saw 73 percent of their customers completing steps of the car-buying process online, whereas independent dealers who don’t have digital retailing solutions only saw 17 percent of their customers doing the same. Now that customers have a taste of how seamless and at their fingertips the car-buying process can be via digital tools, it’s not likely we’ll see a major shift back to pre-COVID-19 shopping. Consumers are accustomed to on-demand shopping, no matter the product, and they likely will not give up that convenience in a post-COVID-19 world. If enough dealerships are offering digital tools, then shoppers will continue to have the options they are expecting after the pandemic. And while the auto retail industry was somewhat of a laggard, much of the technology in use today is at the forefront of e-commerce innovation. The pieces were in place before the pandemic, but the situation created an opportunity for dealers and customers to embrace a digital-forward future for auto retail. Make It A Champion Day!
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