Tag: Websites

Where is Automotive Ecommerce Today? 

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Author: Paulo da Silva, VP of Ecommerce Operations

finger touches digital tablet showing car website on screen

The idea of consumers buying their vehicle completely online used to sound like a crazy idea, right? As the automotive industry has evolved—and quite frankly online shopping in general—the desire and capability to buy vehicles completely online has taken the automotive industry by storm. Let’s take Mark. He saw an ad for his dream car, started searching online and found it at his local Honda dealer website. After he personalized his payment, he was able to start the financing process, provided required personal documents, signed a contract, and now his dream car is being delivered to his front door. All this is being done in the comfort of his home without having to engage with dealership staff via phone, email, text, or in person. During this online shopping process, however, support is still always available should the consumer decide to engage with a salesperson from the dealership.  

With this shift in the car buying process, there’s an amazing opportunity for dealers who are ready to supplement and transform their business by implementing true ecommerce into their operations to stand out from the competition. As we define true ecommerce today, it provides time savings for consumers and dealers through automation capabilities, allowing them to complete a full transaction from end-to-end. 

Through research at Cox Automotive, we discovered two growing segments of car shoppers:

  • Efficient Independents: Mostly open to buying completely online in the future and prefer test drives and purchase delivery.
  • Guided Innovators: Have an increased want to start the car buying process online and seek website that allow them to complete more purchase steps online.

75% of these of these two fastest-growing car shopper segments said within the next five years they would buy ENTIRELY online. The shoppers in these segments are forward-thinking and already – do 10 out of the typical 13 car-buying steps online. Preparing for these consumers who will make up most of future car shoppers is crucial to ensuring your dealership is not left behind. 

In this two-part blog series, you will get a glimpse of what we think the current state of automotive ecommerce is, and what dealers should know about what the road forward could look like for consumers buying cars completely online.  

Where is automotive ecommerce today?

Ecommerce is an emerging channel, and we are seeing consumers who want to go through the car buying process entirely online, from end-to-end, with minimal handholding from retailers. The convenience and flexibility that it offers is an attractive option for consumers.

But while industry ecommerce adoption is still in the beginning stages, dealers who want to get ahead of the curve can be strategic by investing where consumers are going to be in the mid to long-term.

Dealers who are ready to embark on this journey need to commit to the long game, so their ecommerce business is built in a way that’s sustainable. If a dealer is expecting 30% of their sales to come from full ecommerce straight out the gate, those dealers are probably not in the position to really start seriously investing. Dealers should strive to be trusted sources as this ecommerce journey continues to ramp up, but need to recognize that the economics of this are going to improve over time. Thus, understanding the importance of getting into the ecommerce space sooner, rather than later, will make the difference between the dealerships who come out on top. 

Why is it important for dealers to execute an omnichannel approach that still involves the in-store experience?

There will be a growing segment of your business that’s going to be truly 100% online and this segment will continue to grow over time. However, through our learnings in 2023 the majority of consumers prefer an omnichannel approach to car buying. Omnichannel is considered that idea of back and forth during different points in the transaction from online to in-store, and often back online again. Omnichannel ecommerce can be a bridge that dealers could use to get more and more experience at guiding consumers from online to in-store at different parts of the journey.    

But omnichannel is also the destination itself. Even when ecommerce is at maturity, we expect the majority of transactions to still involve the in-store experience in some way. This means that the majority of consumers are still omnichannel, and dealers still need to focus on the in-store experience and creating a seamless journey no matter where the consumer finalizes the deal. 

What role do digital retailing tools play in becoming ecommerce ready?

Digital retailing allows dealers to help consumers do pieces of the car buying experience online. Through this process the consumer starts the deal online and can take the deal from a credit app submission to sometimes even a credit decision, but at that point, dealership personnel will need to engage with the consumer to usher him or her through the deal​. So, while technology plays a big role, the digital retailing process is largely supported by a person in the dealership. While digital retailing is not true/full ecommerce, implementing DR tools is a step in the direction of ecommerce. which is just pulling in more and more pieces of the transaction online. 

Digital retailing helps lay the groundwork without requiring major channel strategy shifts because at the end of the day, the consumer still wants to come in to complete the deal so it can mirror the existing in-store approach.  

What other things should dealers be focused on to prepare for the ecommerce road forward?

We will dive deeper into these focus areas in the next blog, but there are three areas dealers should focus on:  

  1. Building trust and rapport through content: Provide content about cars that answers consumers’ questions before they ask.  
  2. Establish a mature review program: Proactively collect reviews, and showcase high-quality, detailed reviews—providing incentives where it makes sense.  
  3. Prepare for a data-intense world: Partnering with companies like Cox Automotive that help uncover the full picture of the consumer.  

These three focus areas will lay the foundation dealers need to fully adopt an automotive ecommerce world. And there are so many benefits of being an early adopter in this space versus taking a backseat approach. These are things that you must start doing today to be ready for what will be an expectation down the road.  

In our next blog, we will walk through the key focus areas. We will explain the value of building an extensive set of positive reviews online, creating relevant content and maximizing your data so you can start working out the process kinks while scale is relatively small. This will ultimately help you appeal to a new segment of customers and reach new markets.  

In conclusion, ecommerce is a preferred pathway for a growing group of car shoppers and dealers should be thoughtful and patient with their implementation of these new tools. It’s important to remember that ecommerce shouldn’t be a siloed part of your strategy. It should be integrated into your existing channels to work cohesively, not with separate teams, brand and inventory. This shift will not happen overnight but is a long-term strategy that will pay off with diligent preparations and consistency.

To find out more about Cox Automotive eCommerce, visit our website here: https://www.coxautoinc.com/solutions/ecommerce/   

The Step-by-Step for Modern Dealers

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In today’s times, it’s no longer enough to just collect data and use digital retailing tools. It’s time to make a step-by-step plan to activate and leverage them to empower your sales, retain customers and increase new business for the digital future.

In today’s times, it’s no longer enough to just collect data and use digital retailing tools. It’s time to make a step-by-step plan to activate and leverage them to empower your sales, retain customers and increase new business for the digital future.

  1. Give consumers the shopping journey they desire and how digital retailing and ecommerce will make a difference.
  2. Learn more about first-party data and how to effectively activate it at your dealership.
  3. Prepare and strategize on how to get ahead of the future with no third-party cookies.

In today’s times, it’s no longer enough to just collect data and use digital retailing tools. It’s time to make a step-by-step plan to activate and leverage them to empower your sales, retain customers and increase new business for the digital future.

Connecting your Marketing Solutions

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Your blueprint for better-connected digital marketing is just a click away. In today’s crowded online space, it is difficult to break through the noise to reach the right consumer, with the right message, at the right time while also giving shoppers the ability to find and purchase your vehicle as quickly as possible.

Three connected solutions = A better dealer and consumer experience, explores how Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book and Dealer‌.‌com will help you:

  • Connect with consumers through every step of the shopping-to-buying journey
  • Leverage the power of unparalleled data.
  • Tap into unsurpassed consumer reach and industry-leading digital marketing and deal-making solution.

Staying a Step Ahead in a Cookieless Future with First-Party Data 

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Autotrader, Dealer.com and ESNTIAL Teams

As the majority of us know, there are really big benefits to both having and collecting first-party data for your business. Think of your contacts, your customers, your leads, your website, your insights, your predictions… Everything that you have been collecting since the day your doors first opened and website went live at your dealership. 

Your revenue sits in that first-party data. Or more importantly the strategy tied to it. And you can unlock many benefits and advantages by learning new ways of how to activate that data. Especially with a cookieless future quickly approaching on the horizon. In an ever-shifting automotive industry and world, your first-party data will help you stay a step ahead. 

When it comes to your business and marketing goals, it’s essential to understand and map out where your dealership or brand is today, and where you’ve set your sites on going. Data can and should be a leading driver to help you successfully do this.  

So together, let’s take a closer look at how your activated data can help you stand out to your ideal customer in your marketing efforts, mix-match-modernize your strategy, and help you map out your step by step as digital retailing and our industry bridges towards an eCommerce future.  

It’s time to re-strategize how you’re activating your dealership’s data 

Part of activating your data is interpreting and acting on the insights, especially when it comes to what your consumer wants, needs and prefers. However, your existing methods of activating your first-party data don’t quite work the same way anymore.  

It’s time to revamp your strategy to accommodate the changing landscape of the industry and connect to new shopper insights.    

Educate and Demonstrate: Remember, how we do business, where we do business and who we do business with has and will continue to shift. You need to make sure that your marketing strategy includes educating and demonstrating to the consumer you have the cars, service, experience and capabilities they want and are willing to show them how to use them.  

Some of these consumers will be existing customers, but they might need reminders of how your business has evolved. And some of these consumers will be part of the heightened 56% of cross-shopping auto buyers who are open to and entertaining a different brand and type of car. Educate and demonstrate the advantages of doing business with you and what makes your brand the one they should choose. They’re new and haven’t had the first-hand experience yet, so give them the virtual experience and highlight hallmark values and experiences your brand offers. 

Communicate the Way They Prefer: If you’re not communicating the way your consumer prefers, you are definitely missing out on business and probably losing some of your current customers. This year’s Cox Automotive annual Car Buyer Journey Study revealed that for the two growing segments of in-market auto shoppers, their preferences for communication steer them towards who they ultimately decide to do business with. 

And what they prefer when it comes to communication is ease, a frictionless experience, and in their preferred method. For many that means texts, having chat available on your site, and instant buttons so they can quickly complete their desired actions. 

Shifting Parts or All of the Car-Buying Process Online: Both of the growing segments of auto shoppers surveyed in the 2022 Car Buyer Journey Study said they prefer to buy online – with 75% of them saying within the next 5 years they would buy a vehicle entirely online. They’re a growing target, currently completing 10 out of 13 of the purchase steps online. 

It’s an Amazon buying world. Consumers are open to and moving toward being more comfortable with buying high ticket items online, like cars, predominately online as well. Look at what you currently offer with your digital retailing tools and map out what steps you still need to go towards a fully eCommerce future. We have a few suggestions and items to consider when doing that below! 

Rome was not built in a day, but it was built brick by brick. And so should your digital marketing strategy – lean the most on your first-party data to be your bedrock foundation and the digital retailing tools you have supporting, feeding and connecting your customers to what they want and need.  

It’s time to gear up for the new speed of retail 

Digital retailing tools continue to grow and expand how auto dealers do business and plan their marketing strategies. This digital foundation was laid in our industry during the pandemic with the goal of a better shopping experience. As satisfaction levels continue to likewise grow with the online experience, so should your focus on adding more digital retail solutions and capabilities as well as connecting them with your first-party data to help drive your business. 

Did you know 70% of shoppers are more likely to buy 

From a dealer if they can start the process online? 

The new speed of retail is here, and shoppers expect a streamlined, digital experience. So, to help you meet them where they are, it’s important to take a look at where you are. 

Whether your dealership is on the low end of the eCommerce spectrum only offering a few digital retailing tools, or are fully automated and full-spectrum eCommerce ready, there are distinct advantages to mixing, matching and modernizing your digital retail strategy. And first-party data should be the core pillar of how you’re connecting it all and moving forward, especially in a cookieless future. 

As we touched on before, by alleviating your consumer’s pain points, and activating your first-party data with personalization, you’ll have the ability to not only stand out to your ideal customer and retain existing customers, but you’ll also have the ability to improve your customer’s experience in the following ways reported in the annual 2022 Car Buyer Journey Study. In a cookieless future this is where your revenue will have the ability to grow. 

In-market auto shoppers and buyers reported the following satisfaction levels and advantages with transacting online: 

  • 88% – Save time at the dealership  
  • 86% – Save time with the buying / leasing process 
  • 83% – Seamlessness of continuing the online buying transaction in store where they left off 
  • 81% – Improved the overall buying experience 
  • 78% – Greater transparency with pricing 

By connecting your first-party data to your existing and future digital retail tools, you’ll not only give your consumers what they’re looking for, but you’ll set yourself up for increased exposure and reach, the ability to turn vehicles more quickly, increase your opportunities for acquisition and inventory and close more deals. More specifically… profitable deals! 

Automotive digital retailing vs. eCommerce: What’s the difference?  

There is often confusion when it comes to the differences between digital retailing and eCommerce. While they both start online, that’s where the similarities both begin and end.  

Digital retailing helps guide the overall experience for your shopper and saves time for both you and the consumer. Your customers can easily navigate and engage with your website during different stages of their purchasing journey.  

Digital retailing: Largely supported by a person at your dealership: There are many steps that digital retailing can connect. For example, the consumer starts the deal online and can take it to a credit app submission, sometimes even a credit decision, but at that point dealership personnel will need to engage with the consumer to walk them through the deal. So, while technology plays a big role, the process is largely supported by a person in the dealership. 

eCommerce: A fully digital transaction: On the other hand, eCommerce also begins with the consumer starting the deal online. But the key difference is that a consumer can take a self-paced fashion, working through the deal all the way through digitally signing the contract package and scheduling the delivery of the vehicle. The process is also supported by F&I automation primarily, not dealership personnel. Most dealerships have dedicated eCommerce teams who solely focus on these end-to-end online transactions. 

If adding an eCommerce channel isn’t feasible in the near future, digital retailing can still satisfy those digitally savvy shoppers. Consumer research confirms that not every consumer wants the same results from their online experience. In fact, 9 out of 10* prefer a flexible, personalized buying experience. Make it simple for customers to explore the information they are comfortable researching (inventory, trade-in values, financing terms/payments, F&I products) and move the process to the dealership when they are ready. 

Aside from leveraging digital retail and eCommerce solutions to provide seamless transitions between digital and physical interactions, training your entire team (not just your BDC) on switching between online and offline interactions goes a long way. You’ll see increased confidence, improved satisfaction and the consumer will appreciate this more personalized and efficient way of doing business. 

For the road forward 

A cookieless future isn’t as worrisome when you put your first-party data to use. By revisiting your current marketing strategy, mixing-matching-modernizing your digital retailing tools to connect them to your data, and planning everything your dealership does from the top down on how you’ll grow your eCommerce business, you’ll stay a step ahead of your competitors and align your dealership for success in the future. 

As technology continues to evolve, activating first-party data is essential for every auto dealer, whether your business is brick-and-mortar or strictly eCommerce. You’ll gain insights into consumer behavior and preferences, improve customer experience, and optimize your marketing campaigns and dollars.  

It’s time to start shifting from just collecting first-party data to activating and connecting it. Because when you do, you’ll quickly see the difference it can make for your business to increase conversions and your profits. 

Cox Automotive has the most connected and comprehensive view of the automotive industry and offers unmatched data and insights into consumer behavior, automotive trends, and operational best practices. Whatever your goals, we can help you get there faster to stay a step ahead and successful in today’s marketplace.  

WWant to hear all the ways to fully activate your first party data? Catch the replay of a unique webinar opportunity with Automotive News hosted by Jade Terreberry and Noah Lee. They’ll share examples of actions you should take now, and outline strategies successful dealerships and OEMs are implementing to make the most of your marketing efforts and dollars. Sign up for the watch webinar.

Noah Lee Education Series: KBB My Wallet

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At Cox, we’re all about creating a frictionless, end-to-end experience for customers. And with so many Cox Automotive solutions, we strive to create valuable connections between our solutions to deliver dealers and consumers real value.

That’s why we believe Cox Automotive marketing solutions—Dealer.com, Autotrader, and Kelley Blue Book— just work better together.  

One valuable connection that was unveiled at NADA Show 2023 that really takes the power of connection to the next level, is Kelley Blue Book My Wallet now being integrated into Dealer.com dealer Websites who have Accelerate My Deal.



Noah Lee, Senior Director of Product Consulting at Dealer.com, provides a quick overview of KBB My Wallet. He also demos how car shoppers can navigate the My Wallet tool on Dealer.com websites and easily complete even more steps of the car buying journey online with Accelerate My Deal.  

As the only end-to-end auto digital marketing agency, Dealer.com wants to help transform your digital retailing and increase your car buyer leads with a truly connected, end-to-end experience for consumers.

Schedule a demo today.   

Dealer.com Recognized as a Google Premier Partner

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This month, Google recognized the achievements of top-performing digital marketing partners across the globe by awarding Premier Partner status as part of the Google Partners program.  

As the industry’s leading automotive digital marketing agency for dealerships across the United States and Canada, Dealer.com has achieved 2023 Premier Partner status in the Google Partners program. 

The Google Partners program underwent significant changes in 2022, including redefining what it means to be a Premier Partner, through advanced program requirements and offering Premier Partner benefits to promote growth and success with Google Ads. In 2023, the program continues to support its Premier Partners and their clients.  

“Congratulations to our Premier Partners for 2023. These companies are among the top 3% of Google Partners in their respective countries – including the United States,” said Marcin Karnowski, Senior Director of Ads Marketing at Google. “It’s a true accomplishment, one that signals their leading expertise in Google Ads, in forging new client relationships, and in helping clients grow. We look forward to supporting them as they help their customers build smart online strategies and drive long-term success.”  

Dealer.com, along with a select group of Premier Partners in the Google Partners program were awarded this achievement. This program is designed for advertising agencies and third parties that manage Google Ads accounts on behalf of other brands or businesses. Its mission is to empower companies by providing them with innovative tools, resources, and support to help their clients succeed and grow online. 

See what’s new: The latest digital marketing solutions

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And that’s a wrap for the NADA Show 2023! Thanks for stopping by the Dealer.com booth and demoing our latest innovations.  

Dealer.com does more than provide websites, we’re the premier end-to-end digital marketing solution for your automotive dealership. And whether you are current or new Dealer.com customer, now is the time to get started on your digital marketing goals in 2023. 

If you did not get a chance to visit our booth, no worries. There’s still an opportunity to demo the new products and enhancements we unveiled at the show. In the meantime, here’s a recap of what we debuted:  

KBB My Wallet on Dealer.com Websites 

Kelley Blue Book® My Wallet, a personalized shopper tool on Autotrader and KBB.com, will now be automatically integrated into all Dealer.com dealer websites. This means dealers will have even more information on consumers than ever before. 

You can get everything from down payment, trade-in, and financing information – the data you need to speed up the deal-making process and get more accurate leads for your dealership. 

Local SEO 

Take complete control of Search Engine Results Page (SERP) beyond just your organic and paid listings as Google prioritizes local experiences when consumers search for cars. With Local SEO, dealers can promote their dealership and inventory to local car shoppers at exactly the time they are searching for your business.   

New Car Customizer  

With more consumers shopping online for cars than ever before, dealers must ensure their website has the tools consumers need for a seamless shopping experience while displaying a modernized web design.  

Our new car customizer allows shoppers to find the vehicle they are searching for, even when dealers do not have the specific vehicle in inventory. 

These are just a few of the solutions we got to share with dealers at the show. Be sure to sign up for a demo today! 

AWA 2023 Award Winner: Kelley Blue Book® My Wallet on Dealer.com Websites

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Kelley Blue Book® My Wallet on Dealer.com websites received the Enterprise Retailing award during the 2023 AWA Awards. Presented by Brian Pasch Enterprises, the AWAs have been a benchmark in the auto industry for recognizing innovative products in technology, design, search marketing, social media, and digital retailing. 

Pictured L-R: Mike Wulfe, Katie Wilkins, and Paul Paridy.

  

Kelley Blue Book® My Wallet is an intuitive tool designed to improve the shopping to buying journey and drive more quality connections between buyers and sellers. 

Debuted at the NADA Show 2023, Kelley Blue Book® My Wallet automatically integrates into Dealer.com dealer websites who have Accelerate My Deal. This means dealers will have access to everything from down payment, trade-in, and financing information – the data needed to speed up the deal-making process and get more accurate leads. 

When My Wallet meets Dealer.com websites, consumers will have the most comprehensive and consistent power of Digital Retailing at their fingertips.  

How Does Kelley Blue Book My Wallet Work? 

If a shopper engages with Kelley Blue Book My Wallet on Autotrader, they’ll be prompted to enter a desired monthly payment, trade-in, down payment, credit range and term length. This gives consumers more accurate “all-in” pricing.  

From there, their entire search will be customized. Consumers gain budget guidance to help them better understand purchase power and can shop by payment which opens a whole new world of possibility. Dealers Get insights into the consumers financial profile on more leads to provide a personalized sales process with less friction. 

Kelley Blue Book My Wallet + Accelerate My Deal 

80% of consumers think it is a good or great idea to buy entirely online. And with Accelerate My Deal, consumers can complete even more steps online, speeding up the deal for everyone.* 

When shoppers enter their information into Kelley Blue Book® My Wallet it’s automatically transferred into the Accelerate My Deal experience.  Accelerate My Deal leads on average close at a 48% higher close rate compared to other internet leads helping dealers get more highly qualified leads and boost their profits.** My Wallet gives shoppers a personalized shopping journey and Accelerate My Deal moves the shopper from journey to purchase. 

Want to transform digital retailing with a truly connected, end-to-end experience for consumers? Click here to learn more about My Wallet today.  

*2022 Car Buying Journey Study 

** Cox Automotive Product Analytics. Accelerate My Deal Lead to Close Analysis using VinSolutions sales data. Data from Jan 2020-Nov 2020. Analysis performed January 2021 

Summary: Kelley Blue Book® My Wallet, a personalized shopper tool on Autotrader US and Kelley Blue Book, will now be automatically integrated into all Dealer.com dealer websites. Learn more about this exclusive lead-driving tool.  

  

What does Cookieless Future mean to Dealer.com Dealers

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Cookieless Futures

One of the many benefits of digital marketing is the ability to track and measure. Tracking has always allowed marketers to optimize the consumer experience and better understand behaviors to deliver more relevant messages. There are changes coming to how we track and measure online behavior, and you may have already heard about the “cookie-less future” and “updates to third-party cookies.”

First, let’s explain what a cookie is, what will change and how those changes will help automotive dealer in the US.

What is a cookie?

Technically, cookies refer to files or bundles stored on a user’s computer that hold data. They are two types of cookies

  • First-party cookies are unique to a specific website, and user data can only be collected and activated on that one specific website.
  • Third-party cookies are added to a device by other parties in agreement with the website they are visiting. Third-party cookies allow marketers to follow users around the internet to learn about their behaviors, and, in many cases, retarget them and build custom audiences.

As a marketer, the more we know about behaviors online, the more relevant ads we can present. 

What is changing with third-party cookies and how it affects dealership marketing?

As consumers have expressed increased concern over personal privacy and data, and as new regulatory laws have been passed, companies have had to adjust. Apple sparked the beginning of the end when it started blocking third-party ad tracking to protect its users. Google followed suit, it is currently set to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome by 2024.The new changes to stop supporting third-party cookies are designed to benefit the consumer.

These changes will have a major impact, though audience size may decrease, audience quality will increase. Placing third-party tags all around the web, to make a bunch of guesses about human behavior, is a poor way to build an audience. This practice can waste time and money and is not very effective. 

In reviewing many automotive data companies, there seems to be a lot of guesswork when building marketing audiences that are being resold. This system doesn’t help the car shopper or the marketer and can waste a lot of money — quickly.

And as you’re building out your audience strategy, there are some important questions to ask your potential conquest/big data partner. Make sure your potential partner can answer these questions with facts, stats and deep knowledge.

  • How are you collecting or buying data?
  • How are you activating on an audience?
  • How are you identifying in-market car shoppers?
  • How often are your consumer insights updating?

Review Widget Update

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You may see a change in the Review widget for your Dealer.com website.

The FTC recently updated regulations around the transparent display of consumer reviews on retailer websites and has begun to heavily enforce them. In order to ensure our dealers remain compliant with FTC guidelines, we’ve made several updates to the Dealer Reviews widget to increase transparency of the reviews displayed on dealer websites.

The issue stems from the perception of the widget provides. The current Title and Label of the widget implies that the reviews are include all reviews when in fact they a curated set are only based upon recency and rating. The default preference of the widget is to ONLY show 4 stars or above ratings. Based upon recommendations from DDC’s Legal team, DBI plans to adjust the default preference to be 0 from 4.