Why an Omnichannel Approach to Retailing Works

Today’s car buyers not only want, but expect an efficient, personalized shopping experience. The term “digital retailing” has been buzzing around the automotive industry for years, and some kind of digital engagement is a given in the car buying process. Digital retailing doesn’t just benefit consumers: 90% of dealers surveyed in Cox Automotive’s 2023 Digitization of Car Buying study said digital retailing has positively impacted at least one area of their business.

Despite reporting benefits like improved customer experience, ease of completing the deal and reducing time spent on a sale, dealers are still wary of the digital data provided by customers, which leads to them repeating steps in-store and causing friction in the sale.

The Repetition Problem

To save time and help dealers provide more relevant recommendations, 74% of consumers are comfortable sharing more personal information, including personal data like income and credit score, vehicle data and online/social media data.

Despite receiving valuable information from customers online, 97% of dealers report that customers complete steps online and repeat them in-store.

Not only does this kind of repetition add time to the sale, but also it decreases customer satisfaction (46%) and decreases employee satisfaction (26%).

So if we know that repeating steps online and in-store makes everyone unhappy, why is it happening? And what can dealers do to change it?

Close the Gap in Trust

According to our research, the primary reason customers repeat steps in-store is that dealers want to verify the accuracy of the information submitted online. In short, dealers don’t trust what consumers are submitting digitally. In fact, less than 10% of dealers say they completely trust the information customers submit online and a 61% majority say they “somewhat” trust the information submitted.

If a dealer doesn’t trust their own digital tools, they’re repeating steps the consumer has already completed, costing them time and eroding the customer’s trust. This situation creates a frustrating experience for all parties, reduces efficiency, and could even cost a dealership the deal.

The key to closing the gap? An omnichannel approach.

Owning Omnichannel

We’ve already determined that repeating steps of the purchase process negatively impacts everyone’s experience, and our study shows that shoppers and dealers prefer to complete some of the car buying steps in-person. The largest percentage of customers prefer to sit with a dealer and review the information they’ve submitted online before moving forward. And more than 75% of shoppers and dealers indicated interest in working together to finalize the deal on a tablet or other digital tool.

By reviewing the information together, customers don’t feel like they’re wasting time by repeating steps, and dealers get the opportunity to verify the information they’ve been hesitant to trust. This type of personal engagement, while leveraging digital retailing tools, helps develop a personal relationship and build trust and transparency.

When a customer trusts a dealer, they’re more likely to close the deal, come back for service, recommend the dealership and continue to purchase cars there in the future.

The days of guarding pricing details are over, with dealers and shoppers agreeing that price transparency positively impacts the overall car buying experience for everyone.

For more insights on how an omnichannel approach to retail can positively impact your business, download a free copy of the eBook, Build Shopper Trust with a New Approach to Retailing today.