How has the shopping experience going to change?

[Carsten]

Is the internet shopper that different than the newspaper shopper?

I think covid changed the shopper a lot.
1. they learned they don't need to feed the buy a car cycle so much.
2. they will shop more online than in the past - got lazier
3. social media have taught them that sales floor people are just messengers
4. are expecting a higher add value experience when visiting a dealer - why not just stay home and get a car from zoom or carvana?
5. are not really ready to get a no hassle car. This is the second biggest purchase they will make and not even getting some free oil changes sucks bad ... Then why sit 6-8 hours through the process of buying a car when you can do it in your underwear at home from your sofa!

I think the shopper is going to evolve more and more into either buy it from home or I want my starbucks delivered to me while I'm watching a personal tv screen at the dealer.

 

[Todd Thompson]

The buying cycle is a hard one:
The buyer discovered they were going to pay full pop for their next vehicle. No deals, no rate cuts and inventory challenges were an issue even if they were ready to pay. So they sat with their current vehicle. And at the time, no one was really going anywhere to speak of.
Now.. inventory is slowly coming together. Starting to see 'deals'. I do agree customers learned something. I would also suggest dealers and OEM's learned a lot. Keep inventory to a minimum, create scarcity and get all the money. Be surprising if inventory ever gets back to where it used to be.

Personally my buying habits as it relates to online 10x ie: amazon. Never a huge fan, but gotta say, its hard to beat. Carvana though? Verdict is still out on them. Not sure buying from a vending machine is going to fulfill the need, the warm and fuzzy and they've been propped up by easy money past number of years. That ride is over and their share price is a good indicator. Doesn't mean we can't take whats good from their efforts and implement them into our own day to day.

Sales people that allow themselves to be 'messengers' deserve their fate. Sales people need to direct their customers. Lead them into the buying process and provide value. Otherwise, you're right, better off with a drive through window. I don't feel customers would openly admit it, but many need to be directed, pressed, pushed a bit to make those big buying decisions. Way easier to simply 'go think about it'. Scary signing on the line for the next 7 years. Sales people that cant punt them over the line will be relegated into obscurity.

My own direction for expectation at the dealership and providing tangible value is to minimize the time spent there. One of our main competitors would brag what a great time you're going to have sitting there waiting for your car or purchasing. "Popcorn, hair cuts, snacks etc". But is that what the customers really want? I'm guessing they hate being there, they know they are going to get their wallets out and helping them in and out very fast provides value. Decent price, decent experience and get their needs taken care of quick and as painless as possible. Transitioning from online to in dealership effortlessly is a big one. They start their deal online.. tell them by going 'this far' online you've just saved yourself XX minutes on your purchase when you are in. Most people still want to do the sniff test in the car they are considering. Drive over a few bumps, can I see out of the mirrors etc.

Just some random thoughts. Don't have it all figured out but certainly worth considering absolutely everything.

 

[Carsten]

I really hate sitting at dealers that have crappy cheap chairs and watching how their sales staff have to pay for drinks. If I get the delay game, I'm walking. I want to go get a burger and come back after you all get your paper work sorted out so I can sign. lol, I need one of those buzzer thingies so I can ensure the sales person that I will be back.

I've used the same sales agent for the past 3 purchases. Now he knows, I will show up to sign papers and will go home. It allows him to put me in a queue and I don't have to sit 6 hours for all kinds of no reasons besides the agent being scared I will walk.

But yes! this online to offline transition needs to worked out better. There are people like me, who knows what they want and will deal with the credit haggling, and then there are others like you called out who need to have the pen put into their fingers to sign. With no haggle becoming more a thing, I suspect these pen folks probably just need 3 oil changes to help seal the deal.

As for the actual process, this makes a lot of sense to do most of this online. The last time I bought my car, I could sign all the paper work on the desk. They still needed to be able to scan my drivers license and pull the data in. But would the sales person still be happy or will we also see a change in the job description for them? More focused on service and customer satisfaction than push through a sales? This would be part of the sniff test. Test to see if they really like the car they are looking at (I love the FJ looks but can't stand sitting in one) and see if they like the dealer experience.

 

[BillKVMotorCo]

Sales people that allow themselves to be 'messengers' deserve their fate. Sales people need to direct their customers. Lead them into the buying process and provide value. Otherwise, you're right, better off with a drive through window. I don't feel customers would openly admit it, but many need to be directed, pressed, pushed a bit to make those big buying decisions. Way easier to simply 'go think about it'. Scary signing on the line for the next 7 years. Sales people that cant punt them over the line will be relegated into obscurity.

This is what I have been trying to stick in my team's brain. Don't be boring. AI will likely only respond to how dealers want it to respond, so respond in ways that differentiate from the typical experience.