Digital retailing makes it easier and more exciting for customers to shop for cars. The physical and digital processes of buying a car are merged into one seamless experience for the customer, creating more engagement and more sales with the dealership. What is Automotive Digital Retailing? In the early 2000s, customers would visit, on average, five dealerships before purchasing a vehicle. Today, customers may visit two dealerships before making a decision. They know what they want to buy, and they know exactly where to go to get it. With this new age of consumers searching online for the car they want, dealerships need to change how they approach vehicle sales. Digital retailing is different from digital marketing. It’s more than just viewing an online inventory or marketing the dealership on social media. With digital retailing, customers can dive deeper into the car-buying process from the comfort of their homes. They want to buy a car the same way they buy every other product online: with an easy and streamlined checkout process and without pushy sales tactics or overly-complicated forms. They want to pick out exactly what they want and show up to your dealership ready for the keys. Even though it may feel like dealerships are losing influence and control in the car-buying process, it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Omnichannel Digital Retailing Omnichannel is defined, in terms of business strategy, as a way to provide a seamless shopping experience from your phone to the store. There is no one right way to implement omnichannel because it depends on the needs of the business and the customer. No matter how the customer wants to shop, they should remain interested and engaged across all shopping avenues. Using omnichannel, your dealership can control how the customer interacts with your brand and inventory. You can guide customers to the general inventory, or you can be more specific and push them towards a specific model of car you are trying to sell. Customers then will have control over where they go to complete the process, but your dealership pushed them in the right direction. This way, customers create their own experience while digging deeper into the buying process. You are able to reach your customers directly without an email or phone call while the customer makes their own decisions. The Two Types of Customers Digital retailing gives customers the opportunity to shop exactly how they want, and there is one of two ways they usually do. The first type of customer rushes through the whole process, wanting to make up their mind quickly. They want to offload their trade-in, secure financing, and complete the sale within a matter of hours from any device. They don’t want to be upsold and want to finish the process as quickly as they would at any other online retailer. They will only need to show up to the dealership to sign the final papers and grab the keys to their new vehicle, making the interactions in the dealership quick and minimal. They know what they want and don’t need to contemplate their decision. The second type of customer needs time to think everything through. They need to sell themselves on the idea of buying the car before they make any big decisions, contemplating all the possible options and making sure they are getting exactly what they want. They may want to discuss their options or ask questions about the specific qualities on the cars they are analyzing. They don’t want to feel rushed for fear they will end up regretting their choice after the sale is already complete. HOW AUTOMOTIVE DIGITAL RETAILING CAN AFFECT YOUR DEALERSHIP 20 ACCELERATE
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