The Hybrid Approach Is Popular … for Car Purchases

There’s a lot of discussion about hybrid vehicles having a moment. But when it comes to buying a car, more shoppers are choosing a hybrid approach too. The CDK Ease of Purchase Survey tracks how many people buy their car entirely in person at the dealership, entirely online or a combination of the two.

And while the vast majority complete the deal in person (69%), one out of four (25%) buyers embrace a hybrid car-buying approach where they start the purchase process online and finish at the dealership. This data from August sales is relatively consistent with what CDK research has shown the past two years.

Your dealership likely offers digital retail tools so you’ve got this customer base covered, right? Although four out of five (84%) dealerships adopted digital retail during the pandemic, only 30% of stores are leveraging digital retailing in a way that incorporates shopper preferences once they’re in the showroom, according to the most recent CDK Friction Points Study.

Why is this a problem? If you aren’t capturing and keeping the customer’s journey updated before and after they enter the store, the customer must repeat steps in person that they already completed online. This redundancy frustrates customers, needlessly makes the in-store process longer, and hurts the overall customer experience.

A true hybrid car-buying approach might be easier to adopt than you think. Especially if you already have digital tools in place. A good place to start: Shift the staff’s mindsets and tweak your sales processes.

Classify Digital Retail Shoppers as Buyers, Not Leads

As your dealership keeps pace with modern shoppers, it’s important to adapt how you perceive those who use your digital retail tools. A person who completes a credit application or calculates a monthly payment, for example, is an in-market buyer, not a lead, and must be treated as such.

These in-market buyers don’t need, or want, to be “sold.” Your online presence is a portal to your showroom. When consumers use online tools and then call, text or show up at your store, they’re there to buy. Traditional high-pressure tactics, typically used to follow up on leads, will mark your dealership as difficult to work with and push in-market buyers away.

The best buyer experience is one where staff are trained to honor any work done online. This can be as simple as asking every customer who comes through your doors if they’ve used your digital retail tools. If they answer yes, access the customer profile and move forward from where they left off online.

This shift in mindset is a key component to reduce redundant paperwork and meet the demand for a faster overall buying process. Plus, it shows customers that you respect their time and effort and are happy to adjust to how they want to shop, not how you want to sell.

Use Digital Retail Tools in Your Store

Those 30% of dealers mentioned earlier who leverage digital retail in store are on to something big. Use the same tool in store that buyers are using online, and you’ll experience a game changer. Now, buyer and salesperson can sit side by side, pull up the deal already started online, work together to find that perfect payment and then move on to the fun stuff like the test drive. The process is convenient, transparent and efficient — everything that today’s car buyers want.

Retail transformation isn’t a passing fad. It’s likely the one in four customers who embrace the hybrid buying approach today will tick upwards as consumers across the board become more comfortable with digital tools. Adjust your processes and leverage the technology you already have to stay ahead of the curve and thrive in a new digital landscape.