The age of the consumer is still strong as ever, and in a time when the market for new and used vehicles is comparable to the wild west, it’s never been more important to cater your sales tactics to the shopping habits of your prospective customers.
Optimizing your vehicle detail page is a great place to start. It’s one of the first things buyers look at when deciding whether or not to close their tab and move on to the next listing. Below we’ll outline several online buying trends for 2022 and ways to improve your VDPs to complement them.
Online Buying Trends for 2022
Merging the Digital and Physical Experience
Would you rather buyers come to you off the street or via Google? It doesn’t matter what you prefer, because chances are every sale you close involves a combination of both. According to autosuccessonline.com, a whopping 89% of consumers now start their car buying experience online.
With that in mind, it’s time to use digital platforms to your advantage. Create an online shopping experience that rivals the in-person experience your dealership provides. That’s not to say you need to invest in VR headsets and claim real estate in the metaverse, but start with the little things and work your way up. Offer high-quality photos, videos, and 360 tours of vehicles to give them as much of the “real experience” as you can without being in person.
Consumers Value Trust and Transparency
Trust and transparency are not to be overlooked in 2022. According to Autotrader, 60% of time spent in the car buying process goes toward online investigation, meaning your buyers aren’t coming in blind. It’s also worth noting the scale of investment when it comes to buying a car. Consumers want to know everything about a vehicle, a dealership, and the salesperson they're dealing with before they put money down on the table.
That’s why it’s important to treat them like the educated consumers they are. Provide them with facts, vehicle history reports, and detail-rich buyers guides. Go the extra mile by adding credible reviews from other customers and dealer/sales team profiles to give them an idea of who they’re working with. These tactics help buyers gain confidence in your dealership and pose you as an authority in the business.
Time is Money
Thanks to increased access to online tools, consumers are spending less time jumping through hoops to get information. Simply put, they want their questions answered fast or they’re moving on.
Anticipation is key when it comes to keeping your audience engaged. More valuable information on a vehicle detail page means less time wasted speculating and fence-sitting. Provoke them with the necessary resources to make decisions and stay engaged. Include chatbots, contact forms, phone numbers, and email addresses to create clear channels of communication. Understanding what your consumers are looking for and the questions they have in mind will help them make the best use of their time. For example, our RapidLot® technology creates a consistent sequencing strategy, branding efficiency, and publishes your photos faster than before.
Availability is Everything
If there’s anything the shift to digital has taught us it’s that you can now literally be in multiple places at once, so make it your mission to be everywhere buyers are looking. JDPower & Associates reports indicate that internet shoppers view an average of 10 automotive websites during their search for vehicles, and of those, third-party sites are the most frequently visited. Likewise, 22% of new-vehicle shoppers use social media outlets as shopping sources.
Cast a wider net by utilizing sites like Craigslist, Autotrader, Cars.com, and more. Inventory feeds are also great resources for distributing your listings across local, regional, and national networks. Don’t forget the powerful reach of inbound marketing tactics like texts, emails, and social media posts too.
Dealer Specialties is Here To Help
Our only job is to make the lives of dealers easier, and it’s something we take seriously. That’s why we offer resources to stay up to date on industry trends, inventory management tools, listing services, and extensive distribution channels. Browse our full list of products and services to get a glimpse of what we can do, and if you’re ready to crush quotas in 2022, schedule a demo to get started.
