Commentary: Mike Burgiss, vice president digital retailing
The dealership is not dead – just the way we buy vehicles is
Monday December 11, 2017
Article Highlights
- Car buying is about to get better. Consumers are demanding change, and dealers should be as well.
- Today's connected, engaged car buyers are looking for a better experience, one they can drive from the comfort of their couch or wherever they are connected.
- In 2018, the industry will move in earnest from shopping online to buying online.
Car buying is about to get better. Consumers are demanding change, and dealers should be as well.
The separation between our digital and physical lives has become razor thin, even nonexistent in many cases. What we do and how we interact digitally plays directly into our real-world lives, and vice versa. We’ve seen many industries flourish by embracing interconnectivity with open arms, meeting customers where they are, on their own terms. Yet the automotive industry is straggling behind. Car buying continues to be a roller coaster of ups and downs, and not in a fun way. Instead, consumers experience a disconnected buying process, oftentimes inconsistent and nearly always time-consuming.
From the beginning, dealers have been in the driver’s seat, directing the car-buying process. However, today’s connected, engaged car buyers are looking for a better experience, one they can drive from the comfort of their couch or wherever they are connected.