By: Earl Brown, Autofusion (2024)
Last year’s “Car Buyer Journey” Study (a yearly survey of more than 10,000 active car shoppers and buyers, conducted by Cox Automotive) made a few things abundantly clear to most dealers and technology providers, or at least should have. The headline in regard to the traditional retail process could’ve read something like: Consumers Demand: “Out With The Old And In With The New”. Essentially, the data has finally caught up, and confirms what many of us already understood, that consumers have significantly evolved and now favor a much more robust digital car shopping experience with less focus on visiting the dealership until later in the sales process, if at all.
In 2022, Car Shoppers were more dissatisfied with the traditional dealer sales process than at any time since before the global pandemic.
Flashback to 2020, mid-pandemic, consumer sentiment regarding the retail automotive sales process surged 12%. This was due, in part, to dealers (some proactively, and others simply forced by circumstance) providing shoppers with more serious remote-car-buying options, more effective and helpful online shopping tools (like the build & price and reservation solutions we offer, for example), and convenient services like at-home vehicle delivery and service valet. Prices were rising at an intense pace, inventory was in extremely short supply, and yet, consumers seemed to be happier with dealers than ever before. How could that be?
Once shoppers were provided the tools to complete more of the research and buying process online, on the dealers website, consumer sentiment about the car buying process improved significantly.
During the pandemic, Autofusion became laser focused to help dealers solve their inventory problems as they arose. Our Custom Order tool was the first solution available to help dealers convert legitimate shoppers to buyers– even when inventory was incredibly scarce. What we learned in the process is that shoppers need effective technologies to educate themselves, to communicate effectively with the dealer’s staff (as if they were face-to-face on the lot), to build lasting value in the product and dealership, and ultimately to make the decision to convert and buy. Engaging, problem-solving technologies and a low-friction sales process to match it are essential for dealers who want to develop a successful and road-tested long-term strategy in their own market.
Maintaining smaller inventories and putting an emphasis on pre-ordering and reservations is something we see further developing alongside these evolving shopper expectations.
There are ordinary human beings at both ends of every single automotive transaction, and we believe it’s important for technology and marketing solutions to reflect that reality. So dealers may want to ask themselves, if the roles were reversed and you were a discerning car shopper, is your online customer journey and user experience adequate? Is it clear and focused? Do your shoppers have access to all the tools they’ve come to expect in other retail verticals? Does your sales process inspire trust and loyalty, or could it be seen to be a little frustrating, time consuming, and/or opaque?
We’ve spent over 25 years building customer-focused marketing tools for dealers like you. Our Custom Order (build & price) software is one of the many ways we have helped hundreds of thousands of new car shoppers discover more value in your product and dealership.
Find out how Autofusion drives better engagement and consumer buy-in when you book a consultation and demo with our sales team today to learn more about our Custom Order and Factory Reserve Plus software, or send us an email at sales@autofusion.com to get the wheels turning
