F&I and Showroom, December 2020

26 F I and Showroom December 2020 A Auto retailing is retailing period Once the pandemic hit online shopping went through the roof for industries far beyond clothing and groceries Auto sales made a dramatic shift while dealerships were shuttered during lockdowns across the country and shoppers turned to the internet in droves According to CarGurus June 2020 COVID 19 Sentiment Study 60 of respondents indicated they were open to buying a car online while just 32 were willing to do so before the COVID 19 pandemic Has this shift meant a magical transition to seamless digital sales across the industry Certainly not but the trend is moving in the right direction with more retailers shaping their strategies to move from simply using the internet as a tool to bring people into the dealership to truly offering a comprehensive virtual sales experience In this moment of seismic change BY MICHAEL LaMOTTA GETTYIMAGES COM IPOPBA in the retail environment its critical to understand that brickand mortar days arent necessarily over but to stay relevant and competitive physical dealerships require expansion to include a digital storefront as well This expansion has to include evolution in the online F I presentation to ensure customers are being offered a full range of services and that the full scope of revenue opportunity is being captured Unfortunately it took a pandemic to bring us to the inevitable but here we are Taking an entrepreneurial approach and following the example of those who are leading the charge is a great place to start Now is the perfect time to Evaluate your online capabilities Do you have efficient and scalable e commerce functionality Do you have the staff or professional resources to build and manage your online offerings Educate yourself on best practices Make a careful study of your competitors or those in the industry that have success Online auto retailing is here its vital and its valuable This expansion has to include evolution in the online F I presentation to ensure the full scope of revenue opportunity is being captured DIGITAL ONLINE AUTO RETAILING FROM EMBRACING START TO NISH