In the (sort of) Post-Pandemic New Normal, the Digital Retailing Evolution Marches On
COVID related lockdowns and restrictions forced dealers to offer remote and ‘contactless’ buying experiences, BUT today, dealers are choosing to continue reinventing how they sell cars and improving their digital-path-to purchase experiences.
Digital Retail Transactions Today
Nearly 80% of dealers report that past the height of the pandemic, DR-initiated transactions represented over 20% of their total retailed units, with 30% saying that DR-initiated deals represented at least 50% of their sales — a striking number.
Digital Retailing Evolution - Tomorrow's Transactions
When asked to look into the future, the majority of dealers (57%) believe that at least 20% of all vehicle transactions will be completed partially or fully online by 2025, with nearly a third saying over 25% of all transactions will be digital. Pre-pandemic, online car sales share was about 4.2%.
Conclusion
The majority of dealers are realizing the pain of not changing is greater than the pain of changing. They are accepting that now is the time to reinvent the way cars are sold, and are embracing the inevitable evolution to an increasingly digital and customer-centric sales experience – one that will, and must, include more digital buying capabilities.