Digitizing F&I gives consumers the buying experience they want
Digital Retailing Solves Top Consumer and Dealer Issues
Wednesday September 27, 2017
Article Highlights
- By digitizing F&I, we give consumers the buying experience they want and dealers the higher F&I product penetration and profitability they need.
- Pure online retailers and rising consumer expectations are applying enough pressure for traditional dealers to know that they have to add the online option for car buyers.
- Dealers should embrace digitizing the buying process to meet consumer expectations. Digital retailing is a win-win because it can vastly improve dealership efficiency — and profitability — by enabling dealers to work deals, not leads.
By Mike Burgiss — The automotive industry is in a frenzy over selling cars online. Pure online retailers and rising consumer expectations are applying enough pressure for traditional dealers to know that they have to add the online option for car buyers. However, when dealers hear Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke say that we are moving into a “post peak period” for the U.S. auto industry, they may wonder how a tightening market and digital retailing can coexist.
What’s Next, a Car in a Shopping Cart?
Let’s face it, ordering Thursday night’s dinner or a pair of shoes online does not begin to approach the complexity of a vehicle purchase. Why can’t automotive easily replicate that success? We can definitely learn from these nonautomotive examples and integrate some of the consumer-friendly options offered in other retail categories. However, it is up to the automotive industry to meet consumer expectations for making car buying easier, more efficient and fun.