F&I and Showroom, November 2020

14 F I and Showroom November 2020 COVER STORY T BY MICKEY QUINN Since online shopping was pioneered in 1979 its come a long way Originally an outlet for B2B in 1995 Amazon launched as an online bookstore and has developed into the worlds largest online retailer Initially there were concerns around security but with the development of Secure Socket Layers SSL encryption the trust issue was predominantly overcome In 2005 Amazon set the bar when they launched their Prime service and from there the online retail experience exploded The wide adoption of mobile technology has also made it easy to find it and buy it right on your phone McKinsey has reported that the U S ranked the highest in optimistic consumer sentiment about the nations economic health getting through and coming out of the pandemic A large number of consumers are practicing social distancing The 2020 pandemic saw shoppers who have stockpiled essential items dramatically increased online buying and changed the way they spend their dollars The market had to adapt to these changes quickly and concisely Its projected that post pandemic buying behaviors will be adopted as the new normal and remain the same with consumers requiring digital access to retail buying across all industries including vehicle purchasing DIGITAL RETAILING REVS UP From the time the first car dealership opened in Cleveland Ohio in 1898 to recently not a lot had changed regarding the dealer customer experience Prospective buyers would come into the store a sales representative would assist them followed by a test drive and hopefully a sale NEW BUSINESS STRATEGIES for the POST PANDEMIC SHOPPER THE NEEDS ARISING FROM THE PANDEMIC HAVE ACCELERATED THE NEEDS OF DEALERS TO WELCOME DIGITAL INNOVATION AND THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE AN ENHANCED CUSTOMER DIGITAL RETAILING EXPERIENCE WILL ACCELERATE REVENUE GROWTH AND DRIVE LOYALTY GETTYIMAGES COM GOODLIFESTUDIO