What are the main reasons a shopper goes online for their vehicle purchase decisions?
Why do buyers go online when searching for a new vehicle? Well there are a number of factors leading to this. Let’s take me for example. I live in Reno and we have one dealership per franchise in the immediate area along with a handful of independent dealerships. When I begin shopping for a new vehicle my choices are inherently limited by what the inventory in Reno. This doesn’t mean the exact car isn’t there but when we shop we like choices and comparisons to make sure we get the right car at the right price and from the right place. Now in the old days we might have driven to Sacramento or picked up the phone and called around Reno, Sacramento and Las Vegas. But I believe the main reason we now see a majority of our buyers online is convenience. Yes, they go online looking for the perfect car at a great price, but we could still go about this the old fashioned way if the Internet didn’t bring all of this information to our fingertips.
The 3 areas that drive convenience are Selection, Price and Trust.
For Selection: Let go back to me as an example. Let’s says I am shopping for a 2007 Cadillac Escalade. There may be a handful in Reno, but when shopping eBay I see 125 of them from sellers across the country. I can look at the vehicles and find exactly what I am looking for. Each listing has pictures, descriptions, and a variety of VIN information as well as an Auto Check History Report.
Then I can look at price. I firmly believe that every pre-owned vehicle is a niche vehicle. In eBay I can look at each of the vehicles for sale and match price to selection. I can decide the tradeoffs I want to make. Do I want to stay low miles and pay a little more or am I ok with a little higher miles to get a better price or extra options.
This is what buyers do when they shop online. They are just able to go a little deeper when they do this on eBay because they are comparing real cars that are for sale across the country.
On eBay we see other reasons for a buyer to shop. They are part of the eBay community and like to handle their shopping there. With protections in place like feedback and the Buyer Protection Program along with an Auto Check Vehicle History Report included in each listing for free, eBay allows buyers the most convenience possible. On eBay Motors buyers have access to inventory from buyers across the country. This supply, along with the quality of the listings, allows them to make buying decisions right from their computer by doing their own research.
If you could sit on your couch, shop vehicle selection and price for dealers across the country, find and buy it without ever physically going to the dealership and then allow the vehicle to be delivered directly to you, would you do it? Of course you would. Now it is not as simple as all of that. And, of course as there are a number of variables in between, but with over 13 million unique shoppers coming to eBay Motors each month there is clearly high demand for this type of shopping experience.
Trust is key. It doesn’t matter how convenient you make it, nor how great your selection or price is. If they buyers do not trust your or the process then they will not buy from you. On eBay we have a number of pieces in place like feedback, the Buyer Protection Program and Auto Check Vehicle History Reports to help, but when it comes down to it the most important part is do they trust your dealership.
How well you present your dealership and your inventory online?
How well do you help the buyer though the transaction?
Convenience, Selection, Price and Trust are the heart of the online shopping experience. Spend time making sure that you properly represent yourself, your dealership and your inventory to help you stand out online and ultimately cater to the needs of the buyers while also helping your dealership meet its revenue goals.
