Creating a Digital Storefront that

Drives Desire.

Three proven ways to drive more sales from your website.

Digital dominates the

RetailExperience.The rise of digital experience in automotive retail shows no signs of letting up. According to a 2018 Cox Automotive consumer study, consumers now spend the majority of their car-buying experience online.

That means that in order to improve sales, overall profitability and customer satisfaction, you need to consider and evaluate your digital dealership experience as much as — or even more than — your physical operation.

It also means your website needs to do more than it ever has, functioning both as a lead generation tool and as an extension of your overall digital experience. It must be your complete digital storefront.

Fortunately, new consumer data has revealed exciting opportunities for dealers to deliver more relevant and efficient shopping and buying experiences, and emerging technologies now enable sales more efficiently than ever.

We’ve compiled three effective strategies for delivering these results today while positioning your dealership for continued success tomorrow. Consumers spent 61%

of their entire car-buying process online in 2018.1

Source: 1Cox Automotive Consumer Study, 2018.

strategy 1: Personalize your website with less manual effort. According to the latest Cox Automotive and eCommerce research, consumers increasingly want to start the buying process online. Just as importantly, they overwhelmingly expect a highly relevant, personalized experience, despite not always knowing exactly what vehicle they will eventually buy. That means you must strive to deliver shopper-specific inventory and incentive information from the first moment a consumer arrives on your site.

Traditionally, this process has required manually configured personalization triggers which tax your dealership resources. An automated approach, however, can deliver all the benefits of personalization with none of the added complication. The process works by using data to deliver inventory and key incentives directly to consumers based on their unique browsing and engagement history.

This real-time personalization strategy works. Across the Dealer.com network, personalized content consistently delivers over 2.5X more inventory engagement and double-digit conversion lift, all with minimal manual effort. Simply put, automated personalization drives consumers to inventory faster, without costing your dealership time and resources best spent servicing customers.

Source: 2Dealer.com Experience Optimization Lift Study, 2017.

12% boost in inventory leads for dealers who deliver personalized content. 2

90% of consumers expect a personalized experience.

strategy 2: Focus your inventory pages on deals, not just details.There’s no use in delivering a curated shopping experience if you can’t also deliver a realistic picture of the final deal. Consumers prefer to start transactions online rather than in-store. However, research also shows that consumers perform a vast amount of pricing and vehicle research online and aren’t satisfied with inconsistencies in data that arise when shopping online versus in-store.

To facilitate a more consistent and streamlined path to purchase, it pays to scrutinize and evaluate the experience you are delivering on your inventory pages. By integrating digital retailing tools, Kelley Blue Book trade valuation, key research information and other transaction-focused features within your inventory pages, you can transcend traditional vehicle details and facilitate deals.

Moreover, this critical experience can — and should — be integrated into an easy-to-navigate, mobile-optimized, and user-friendly workflow. By working with your digital marketing partner to ensure your vehicle pages drive DEALS, you can better ensure your digital storefront is aligned with today’s consumer preferences.

83% of consumers want to

start the purchase process online.3Source: 3Cox Automotive Future of Retail Study, 2018.

strategy 3: Drive engagement across all of your profit centers with custom content.

While vehicle deals should anchor your strategy, it’s also important to merchandise all your profit centers within your digital storefront to ensure you are maximizing the revenue potential of your website.

Fixed Operations is the leading area of opportunity. According to 2018 NADA Data, 49.6%4 of total dealership gross comes from the service department; however, dealerships net only a 30%5 share of the total parts and service market.

By optimizing your fixed operations footprint online, you can seize this opportunity. Work with your digital marketing partner to ensure your services, as well as any associated service specials, are properly merchandised across your website and advertising portfolio each month. Your partner can also ensure that your service pages are consistently updated and maintained.

Investing in this part of your website not only attracts new customers, it also gives shoppers considering your dealership confidence in your service department, and a more holistic view of your brand. 3x

more engagement across websites that employ

digital retailing. Source: 42018 NADA Data; 5estimate based on revenue calculations from NADA Data 2017: Annual Report and the 2018 Cox Automotive Service Industry Study.

Build a digital storefront ideal for

Today and

tomorrow.The technology driving your digital storefront should extend your dealership’s in-store experience to the digital world. Done right, this approach can achieve greater engagement and profitability online across all profit centers while keeping you focused on what matters most — selling and servicing customers. Technologies driving personalization, inventory and fixed-ops merchandising, digital retailing and user experience continue to evolve. By remaining at the forefront of these innovations, your dealership will be positioned to weather industry shifts and thrive for years to come. 57%

of traffic is now mobile.

Forging the shortest path

to your

showroom.Dealer.com digital storefronts harness the power of human behaviors to build seamless and lasting connections between your dealership and your customer. By employing data-driven design based on insights from buying behaviors, we deliver modern, interactive, and personalized digital storefronts proven to deliver on customers’ desires.

We don’t rely on flash-in-the-pan tactics to create your site. Our all-new site architecture is built for speed, security and flexibility to serve you today and well into the future. After all, we strive for excellence in everything we do – listening, learning and making continuous progress on our solutions to deliver enduring value to dealers like you.

Questions?Call Toll Free 888.718.9331

GM_Digital_Solutions@coxautoinc.com