Retail Anywhere Clip - Evolution

EL So first, let's set the stage. Let's talk about how automotive retailing has evolved, especially in a digital world. Can you start us off by walking through this evolution that led us to the times we're in?

DB So over time, automotive retailing and digital retailing have kind of taken on their own persona. And if you think about digital retailing, you start thinking about websites and inventory and lead submission. You might be doing payment calculation or even starting a credit app. And dealers have adjusted their processes to optimize that consumer experience in doing that. And if you think about the service side of the business, it's been mostly web scheduling for appointments and maybe some online payment.

CW And then you fast forward to today, right, where we're reading that two thirds of consumers want to buy a vehicle online. But what does that really mean? Do they want an entire process where they buy the car online? Are they looking to just do the paperwork online? Do they not want to do a test drive anymore? Do they not want to ask questions? So a lot of times consumers say they want something, but then we find that they act very differently than that.

EL I imagine that gets challenging.

KE It sure does, Erica. What’s really challenging is when you try to step back and map out like the entire automotive retailing journey, consumers want to complete a lot of those pieces from the comfort of their home. But they're still following a lot of those same processes and purchase journeys that they were maybe five years ago. So they start their research online. They go through all the steps, think they got a good deal, right? Specific to the vehicle selling process. But then they arrive at the dealership and oftentimes what happens is they have to kind of start the process over, right? We see things sort of unravel at that point and they have to start a lot of steps and repeat information and do all of that process again, because it wasn't communicated from online to the in-store stage of the buying experience.

CW And dealers have to look at automotive retailing and digital retailing as dealership operations, period. And dealership operations really is just communicating information to consumers no matter where they are and in the buying process and no matter where they are physically. And I think that successful retailers have found ways to collect and provide information back to consumers that is relevant to them that leads to a profitable transaction for the retailer. And a lot has changed over the past 10 or 15 years. But I think the consumer's openness to being communicated to in different ways and through different channels is one of the biggest changes.