5 Things to Consider with Automotive eCommerce

Article published: 30 January 2020

Planning to sell your used cars on your car dealer website? Here are some of the questions you should consider before making the leap - and some ways that our industry-leading automotive ecommerce platform can help you lead the crowd.

As you’ve probably realised, the car industry is changing – and online purchase is a big part of that. With top brands like Rockar, VW and Volvo putting their chips behind ecommerce, the time for action is now. After all, 49% of 16-35 year olds have said they’d be willing to buy a used car entirely online.

Taking the decision to start selling your used cars online is a big decision - but there has never been a better time to take the leap. In this blog post the automotive specialists at Bluesky Interactive detail some of the key considerations for dealers - and how AutoTransact, the most advanced end-to-end vehicle purchase platform in the industry, can help you to achieve everything you want and much more.

Reservation, full purchase, or both?

Does your dealership want to allow people to pay a deposit or reservation fee, and then complete the purchase at the dealership? Or should you go straight to completely end-to-end eCommerce, with customers able to pay the full price on a car online before they've even spoken to you?

The consumer market currently is probably most willing to reserve a car online - but that doesn't mean that you should be limiting yourself. After all, as the stat above demonstrates, young people (your soon-to-be biggest customer segment) increasingly prefer to avoid the haggle and buy online.

If you do want to "dip your toe in the water" with online reservation, the modular AutoTransact solution can help. With advanced reservation fee capabilities, customisable by location, it can collect the very hottest sales leads for your team to action. And when you want to upgrade to full purchase, it's simply and easily toggled on within AutoTransact.

Are there any consumer regulations I need to be aware of?

Obviously all relevant consumer regulations apply and should be followed - but in particular we want to focus on distance selling regulations. These mean that whenever a purchase (even if that is just a deposit) is made at a different premises to your showroom, distance selling rights kick in to protect the consumer. The regulations dictate that the consumer has the right to a full refund on the car within 14 days of vehicle delivery - and if this right isn't clearly communicated this extends to 1 year and 14 days.

The AutoTransact solution accommodates these rights in its options and set-up - but you will still need to take them into account in your Terms & Conditions. It's just one of the reasons we recommend getting your T&Cs checked over by a legal representative!

Is anyone else offering eCommerce on used cars?

A number of your competitors, partners and manufacturers are offering vehicle purchase online - both on new and used cars. Solutions like Rockar bought the idea to market, and dealer-level platforms like AutoTransact have enabled dealers to go above and beyond with a truly customisable online purchase integration.

In short, yes, people are already doing it - and as eCommerce penetration grows, your consumers will be increasingly exposed to the idea. In turn, we anticipate market-readiness for online purchase is only going to exponentially increase from this point forward.

Should I offer home delivery, or dealer-to-dealer transfer?

This decision will in the end come down to the logistics between your dealer locations, and the facilities you have to be able to offer the services. However, we're advocates of anything that makes the used car purchase process easier, and helps to encourage your customers to convert more.

To this end, AutoTransact is built to allow and encourage both of these facilities - with the ability to change preferences by locations, extend lead times, increase deposit fees and much more. It really is incredibly flexible!

Are customers ready to buy cars online?

Whilst the majority of people aren't likely to nip out tomorrow and drop 40 grand on a secondhand Audi A8 they've never seen before, the figures do suggest that preferences are trending in that direction:

83% of consumers want to do 1+ steps of the purchase process online - that's according to a Digital Dealer study into whether car buyers want to shop online.
49% of 16-35 year olds are ALREADY willing to buy a used car online - and that's based on UK research from a large dealer.

Of course, some dealer websites aren't able to support this behaviour. After all, whilst 42% of customers are willing to buy without a test drive, that does depend on your website having enough information for them to make a purchase decision. If you don't have enough images, information and social proof, then eCommerce is never even on the radar. After all, we know that 60% of car buyers purchase when they get bored of looking - and if your website facilitates this behaviour, it could result in great things!

What is AutoTransact?

Bluesky Interactive has created AutoTransact, which will be the most advanced end-to-end used vehicle purchase platform in the industry. It offers more flexibility than ever before, allowing you to customise your set-up to meet your exact dealer preferences.

We’re also proud NOT to charge transaction fees – we don’t think you should be punished for your success.

The AutoTransact product provides a true ecommerce solution, including:

Sophisticated reservation capabilities
Part-exchange – including downtrading if desired
Multi-location setup – including completion at alternative dealerships
Finance integration
Add-ons and warranties

We’ve taken the time to ensure that this platform is optimised for both dealers and consumers – and, with multiple dealers already signed up, now’s the time to get ahead of the crowd.