Only 2% of auto sales were online before 2020, but that number has since risen to 30% and is continuing to rise, driven mainly by the expansion of digital retailing. This all-encompassing sales process allows you to merge your traditional customer service with a seamless online shopping experience and make it simpler and more enjoyable for customers to shop for cars.
In this article, you’ll learn how it can help you maximize auto retail sales and efficiency.
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Why Implement a Digital Retailing Solution?
Digital retail solutions such as the taq Auto Digital Retailing Software position you at the forefront of contemporary buying habits. Customers may access this retail journey on any platform they like, seamlessly switching across websites, applications, emails, phone calls, and in-person interactions.
Digital auto retail lowers the learning curve by combining product, pricing, and financial information in a user-friendly app. New salespeople can use the financial safeguards and details embedded into the app and digital inventory to save time on onboarding and product training. This might facilitate hiring and expand the talent pool beyond seasoned car salespeople while attracting digitally aware employees with other soft skills.
Additionally, sales teams may experience greater job satisfaction if they can close deals more quickly and smoothly, integrate new employees more quickly, and have a more efficient workflow. This might lower your turnover rate and expensive hiring requirements.
Payment Customizations
With the help of an online tool for car shopping, which includes a thorough price analysis, they can choose their down payment, loan length, and financing or leasing options. Then, they can pay a deposit to reserve the car. Customers also receive a detailed line-by-line breakdown of their deal's dollars to help them avoid tax or fee surprises.
Virtual Engagements and Seamless In-Store Transitions
Through live chat and video chats, salespeople may still develop relationships with online auto customers. When necessary, you can even take over and assist the online purchaser with model selection, deal construction, and data collection.
In addition, since salespeople have access to all their information on the in-store digital retail platform, online retail customers can quickly schedule a showroom appointment and pick up where they left off.
Online Credit Application
The most effective digital retail technologies can handle the online finance application and approval procedure while adhering to the "bumpers" established by you and your F&I managers. Since 80% of customers prefer to set up their payments online, this might be a critical competitive advantage for a business.
Additionally, customers can apply for credit online. The dealer's lending partners can be connected to the software, preparing the buyer to simply go in, sign their contract, and leave with their new vehicle. To help customers comprehend their purchasing capacity, the best digital retail platforms can initially present a soft-pull credit scenario. They can then submit an official credit application as the sale develops and receive instant approvals from your various lending partners to find a loan that works for them.
Document Upload
The software can also gather relevant papers thanks to a simple upload gateway and a library of forms readily available on a tablet or computer. This feature can effectively create a digital deal jacket by swiftly digitizing your front-end documentation and even filling in areas with client information that has already been gathered.
In-Store Digital Retail
The goal of in-store digital automotive retail is to make the showroom experience for both the customer and your sales team faster, easier, and more enjoyable. A salesperson checks customers in as they enter the showroom while holding a tablet with all the data they've already provided, ready to move on to the next step.
Your in-store sales team can use the entire set of online retail features listed above. While customers browse and compare models, salespeople may develop their deals and handle F&I steps while sharing their screens with the consumer. They can complete documentation and request management and F&I permissions from their computer or tablet without leaving their client's side.
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Final Thoughts
Platforms for automotive digital retailing enhance both the online and in-person car-buying experiences for customers while boosting the efficiency of your sales operations.
These platforms streamline and simplify the car-buying process for both the customer and the dealership. Thanks to digital auto retail, customers can complete as much of the transaction themselves or with the help of your in-store sales staff. As a result, dealerships can expedite the process and raise customer satisfaction by giving customers a one-stop shop for all of their car-buying needs.
