ACCELERATE YOUR AUTOMOTIVE SALES WITH HIGH OCTANE ECOMMERCE

Is the answer to lagging automotive sales as easy as launching an online commerce platform?

The auto industry braced for tough changes before the global pandemic affected factories, dealerships, and auto parts. Now more than ever, many automotive retailers find their current technology lacks the necessary flexibility to adapt to the new normal of a global pandemic.

The recession that began in 2008 took almost a decade for car sales in the European Union to recover. Given this precedent, the automotive and auto parts industries need to keep pace with the growing online market demand and consumer behavior changes by choosing a quick start ecommerce solution to launch online, surpass the competition and revive sales.

McKinsey & Company reports in addition to electric mobility, driverless cars, automated factories, and ridesharing, the auto industry can embrace the market changes and pivot quickly to gain advantages by reimagining their organizational structures and operations. By focusing on digital channels, the auto industry can strategize their “new normal” to ensure survival and success as they accelerate automotive ecommerce solutions.

Fast-track Your Auto Technology

McKinsey & Company also estimate the top 20 OEMs in the global auto sector will see profits decline by approximately $100 billion because of COVID-19, a roughly six-percentage point decrease from just two years ago.

“Automotive leaders can achieve numerous advantages by prioritizing digital innovation and building a resilient supply chain. But there is a window of opportunity, and it is closing fast,” says Simion Petrov, VP of Innovation at OSF Digital.

Currently, consumers are using online sales channels to engage with a plethora of businesses. A recent McKinsey digital sentiment analysis of Europe found the use of digital channels increasing by an average of 13 percentage points.

Before COVID-19, many auto dealerships put off launching an online store because of the length of time it takes and the amount of work it elicits. But by leveraging consumer trends the world embraced during 2020 in self-service buying, automotive merchants can use 2021 to launch online— in weeks, not months —and start processing new orders, products, customers, stores, and promotions to keep up with customer demand.

Attract Online Buying Power Quickly

Times are changing—in just 2012, 70 percent of buyers stated the Internet as a major source for information gathering, displacing brochures, ads, and test reports. Five years ago, customers visited dealers an average of five times before purchasing a car. Now Forbes reports your next car may be delivered to you even if it’s just a test drive.

To compete in a near 100% virtual world, auto manufacturers and dealers need to create a state-of-the-art web presence that provides customers with a digitally supported purchasing experience based on, for example, comparison tools, car configurators, and other online tools.

Developing an automotive ecommerce platform doesn’t have to be a lengthy, cost-prohibitive project anymore; many rapid deployments exist so businesses can attract customers to navigate their products or services online fast—which is what automotive retailers must do in 2021 to minimize industry disruptions and serve customers better.

With the right automotive ecommerce strategy and implementation partner, automotive retail can focus on the finish line and diminish the pandemic’s economic disruption.