SHOPSMART AUTOS – CUSTOMER INFORMATION – MARCH 1, 2021
90% of Car Shoppers Prefer a Dealership Where They Can Start the Buying Process Online
The Biggest Changes Need to Come in Four Main Areas
According to an Autotrader’s Car Buyer of the Future study conducted last year, there are 4 main areas consumers would like changed.
Financing Paperwork:
As further proved by CDK Global’s study, consumers want some serious improvements to the paperwork process. According to Autotrader’s research, “Nearly three fourths of consumers, 72%, want to complete the credit application and financing paperwork online. The key factors driving this desire are to save time at the dealership (reported by 72% of those who favor online paperwork) and to have less pressure while filling out paperwork (reported by 71 % of those who favor online paperwork). A separate study conducted by Cox Automotive in 2014, showed that the time buyers spend in the F&I office averages at 61 minutes, more than two thirds the total amount of time they want to spend at the dealership (90 minutes). Moving paperwork online and enabling consumers to complete it on their own time would greatly enhance the in-dealership experience and cut down on the time they spend in the dealership on the day of purchase.”
Deal Structuring:
Consumers also indicated that they would like to see changes to the deal structure process. Over half of consumers (56%) want to start the negotiation process on their own terms and preferably online.
Test Drives:
The majority of consumers (88%) stated that they won’t purchase a vehicle before first test driving it – although they seek improvements to the current process. The majority reported that they do not like the current process, which typically involves being accompanied by a sales person. Instead, they seek a more convenient test drive process with less pressure, such as being able to test drive different vehicles across brands in a single place or taking a test drive with a product specialist instead of a sales person.
Service:
Improvements to the vehicle service process are also important to consumers, with 83% indicating the importance to access a network of local service centers that honor service agreements. Consumers seek convenience and off those who prefer local service networks, 76% would prefer to go to a service center close by, and 63% want to be able to service the vehicle anywhere. Implementing strategies to make the consumer the center of the auto purchase process brings huge rewards to dealerships willing to make the change. With 66% of consumers saying that they would be much more likely to buy from a dealership that offers their preferred experience, the opportunity in new revenue simply can’t be ignored.
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