Online Shopping to Online Buying

[Bill_Playford]

Why has "Build it and they will come" failed?
From the very moment a person thinks "I need a new car" they visualize ROBO (Research Online, Buy Offline). But, I believe that all car shoppers start internet shopping prepared for a totally new experience that'll break them from ROBO workflow. Car shoppers get 10-20-30 sites into their journey, they LEARN that -like the last 3-5 cars they bought- they must let go of the internet and head into the store to move the decision making process forward.

This is important for dealers and vendors...
Today's car shoppers are ready for change, but they CONCLUDE that nothing significant has changed for them. As the shopper approaches the final mile in the journey, they use the Internet to help them find the best dealer that'll give them a productive car shopping experience (i.e. pick up where the internet shopping left off).

Nailed it.

Yea! You want to put some personal money into an "idea" like that?

I put six years of personal time into it. Where do I sign up?

 

[joe.pistell]

Actually I have.

Ditto.

 

[Bill_Playford]

Someone please call Penske an idiot: http://www.autonews.com/article/201...5/penske-rolls-out-online-shopping-across-u-s

 

[craigh]

I like the idea?

 

[joe.pistell]

Craig,
ask yourself D.I.S.C.? (Does It Sell Cars)

Another way to DISC, try this:

1. Read this frustrated car shopper story http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/threads/uncle-joes-make-over-diary.1683/page-38#post-42543
2. Then re-read the Penske PR.
3. Then match the shopper's high-level frustrations with Penske's high-level solutions.

Question: Were the shoppers frustrations solved?

1. If yes, how.
2. If not, why not.

 

[BHavican]

Unless I went to a dealer that doesn't have the newest "Penske Tech" (http://www.kearnymesatoyota.com), they haven't done anything new. They simply purchased Dealertrack's Digital Retailing.

For those unfamiliar, DT's widget allows a shopper to estimate payment options, get pre-qualified with a form that requires a SSN, and get a trade value powered by Blackbook. The estimate payment options part has a nice interface. The pre-qualification is out dated in that there are many other tools that will use a soft credit pull. I'm not a fan of Blackbook's trade in tool.

In my humble opinion, this is lead generation and is not providing an online buying experience.

 

[craigh]

Craig,
ask yourself D.I.S.C.? (Does It Sell Cars)

I still don't have the same perspective on this item. It's not about replacing the in-store process or solving for every type of customer - it's about solving for the next generation of shoppers and how they want things to work. The more of the process we get online, the better I see this going. Can someone do it better? Of course. But I encourage everyone to keep iterating until we get to a great solution.

When I ask myself "DISC", the answer is "Yes".
This service caters to the buyers that do want to by online, and if Penske can launch it nation wide, brand it and market it then there's a good chance it will work for them as they continue to iterate.

I like to ask myself Would I Lose Sales If I Didn't Have This Tool (W.I.L.S.I.I.D.H.T.T.) and in this case, if someone is bound and determined to buy online and Penske doesn't offer it, they'll shop somewhere that does.

The alternative seems to be putting your head in the sand until you're forced to change.

Edit: Penske tool is pseudo online shopping at best.

 

[ed.brooks]

Someone please call Penske an idiot: http://www.autonews.com/article/201...5/penske-rolls-out-online-shopping-across-u-s

I do hate both the SRP and the VDP -- way, WAY, too busy. And this is a dealer that has rolled out the 'new' Preferred Purchase program -
The SRP has almost no info above the fold.

This isn't about digital retailing - it's about a fairly traditional conversion.

 

[BHavican]

The articles notes that the solution will be available by month end.

The site I visited has the same UI as the screenshots above as well as the same look as featured on Penske's YouTube video ().

 

[craigh]

Unless I went to a dealer that doesn't have the newest "Penske Tech" (http://www.kearnymesatoyota.com), they haven't done anything new. They simply purchased Dealertrack's Digital Retailing.

I stand corrected. It definitely is.
It actually broke on me, taking the whole VLP with it -_-