No matter what kind of work you do, safetyworks. Montana State Fund has been at the job of promoting safety for decades, and we’re proud to say that it’s working, all over the state. Watch stories of real Montana businesses starting every day with safety at safemt.com. 71% of customers want to buy their autos in person, and 64% are uncomfortable buying 100% online. When asked why they preferred going to the dealership, 75% said they wanted to see their vehicle before buying it, and 64% thought a test drive was necessary. Only 38% wanted to negotiate in person and face-to-face. That doesn’t mean they wanted to spend a lot of time there. They didn’t want to be at the dealership for more than an hour. That’s probably why car buyers also preferred doing online research and paperwork, including the financing portion. They wanted transparency and time while evaluating decisions such as buying extended warranties. For decades, consumer pain points have included the following: • Disliking long waits • Evaluating financing options while under pressure • Meeting too many people • Having too much paperwork Those pain points were a fact of life before the pandemic. Less than 2% of all vehicles were sold online. The pandemic changed that: 30% of U.S. new car sales in 2020 were sold online. But there’s a difference between doing something because you have to and doing something you want to. People like going to dealerships. But they don’t want to be there for hours. Buying a vehicle by using a hybrid process gives customers convenience and speed. It also allows them to see their vehicle in person and test drive it before making a final decision. As a dealer, the key to understanding these survey results is reducing the pain of buying a car and increasing the convenience. Seeing a car and taking it for a drive is not a pain point and can only be done in person. People are always going to want that part of the auto-buying experience. But there’s a great deal that can be done to make other parts of the experience more pleasant than they’ve been in the past. Dealerships aren’t going away. However, changing business practices to include better selling methods won’t go away, either. And that’s a good thing. The obvious takeaway is that most people, including younger customers, want to conduct business at the dealership. 29
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