Introduction
The entire process of buying a car has changed significantly over the years. Today’s consumer with a purchasing intent always prefers browsing and researching about different vehicles before actually visiting a showroom – a trend that seems to be growing thanks to digitization in the used car industry.
The digital revolution that was fueled by the pandemic in 2020 has permanently altered how different industries and their consumers interact with each other. And this impact can also be seen in the used car industry.
For instance, introduction and widespread adoption of tech like AR/VR, 360° perspectives, and more have led to a decreased footfall at car dealerships, which led them to adapt to the changing times and adopt different digital solutions to increase sales.
There are 3 main reasons why Digitization is gaining momentum in the used car industry. We’ll explore more about each of them in detail in this blog.
1. It improves customer retention
Enabling your company with digital technology has become mandatory for businesses to remain competitive and profitable in the long run.
In today’s day and age, customers are expecting a seamless digital experience and don’t want to rely on the salesperson for all the information. Catering to their expectations is a mandatory step that used car businesses need to address in order to keep their competitive edge.
First, providing customers with a good digital experience means that they’re more likely to choose your business over your competitors because of the reduced hassle of buying a car, which directly translates to an increase in your business sales.
Second, digitization also allows you to better interpret your customer’s behavior based on the data they provide, which can help your salespeople make more informed decisions and lure them in with better offers based on the customer’s purchasing behaviour.
Finally, digitization also helps your business reduce the time, effort, and cost involved in maintaining records and other paperwork, which can help you give your customers a better experience overall.
When put together, you are able to entice customers with a hassle-free user experience for an otherwise tiring process, thereby ensuring their retention for your business.
2. It reduces operating costs
Digitization is now enabling car dealerships to upload their entire catalogue online, capturing every detail about the vehicle. When combined with tech like AR/VR viewing, it almost eliminates the need for a potential buyer to visit the dealership, helping businesses save money by cutting down on real estate, hospitality, printing, and other overheads involved in running a dealership.
Additionally, this also means that used car dealerships will require lesser manpower to be deployed on the field, which is usually a big chunk of the operating cost involved in running a business.
All the latest digital tech innovations are built with a goal of reducing the operating costs for businesses. And being quick to implement these innovations into your business will turn out to be very beneficial for your business in the long run.
3. It improves vehicle damage detection
One of the core processes for a used car dealership is to be able to track and report the vehicle’s existing condition, including the external condition of the vehicle since this becomes a key factor in determining the reselling price of a vehicle.
However, conducting individual inspections manually is a very tedious process requiring a lot of time, effort, and manpower. This can become very costly when done on a large scale.
This is where digital tech can play an important role by making the process a lot more efficient and cost-effective.
For example, Inspektlabs (a pioneer in digital vehicle inspections) uses a highly efficient Machine Learning algorithm that is trained using 30M+ images and videos of different vehicles to automate the whole process.
Their product allows you to upload a 360° scan (photos or video) of your vehicle and get a detailed vehicle condition report covering details such as the type, size, and location of damage (if any) within seconds.
With products like Inspektlabs AI, used car dealerships can significantly reduce the time, cost, and effort involved in the vehicle inspection process, and at the same time, maintain transparency from start to end, giving their customers a better experience and improved trust while purchasing a vehicle.
Conclusion
The post-pandemic age is seeing more and more customers looking for a digital-first experience while purchasing a vehicle, and expect used car dealerships to provide them with the same.
Any business that implements this into their process ASAP will not only see an increase in sales and retention, but will also be able to save a lot of time, money, and effort in the process.
Failing to adopt these changes and adapt to customer preferences will eventually lead to your business losing the upper hand and loose a lot of customers and money in the process.
