Study: Car Dealers, Shoppers Like Digital Tools
It’s not just car shoppers who prefer it when you do much of your new car shopping online. Increasingly, car dealerships are happier with online shopping tools, too. A new study from Kelley Blue Book’s parent company, Cox Automotive, finds that car dealers think their personal connection with each customer improves when car shoppers use digital tools.
But both sides have some frustration with the process.
Ninety percent of car dealers told researchers digital retailing tools positively impacted their business. Seventy-nine percent say customers are more satisfied with their purchases when they do some of their shopping online. And while digital interactions decrease face-to-face time with dealers, 76% of dealers say they improve customer relationships.
Just 26% of dealers lamented the “lack of personal connection” when customers did much of their shopping online.
Cox Automotive surveyed 393 franchised dealers, 2,962 people who recently bought a car, and 1,650 people currently shopping for a vehicle to understand their feelings on digital retailing tools.
Neither Side Likes Long Interactions
Customers and car dealers agreed on one thing — digital tools save them time. Sixty percent of car dealers said saving time on a sale was the primary benefit of online sales tools, while a whipping 93% of car shoppers said the same.
Buyers who shared more information proved more satisfied with the final purchase.
Some Data Privacy Fears Easing; Not All
Customers proved fairly comfortable with sharing some personal data as part of the shopping experience. Seventy-four percent were comfortable inputting their income and credit score into online tools and answering questions about their hobbies and interests that might help a dealer point them toward a car that met their needs.
But few — 29% — were comfortable sharing online search history and social media activity for similar reasons. A nearly even split showed in sharing vehicle usage data — 52% of customers would share that with a dealer.