Automotive retail is undergoing a digital revolution, transforming the way both dealers and buyers finalize deals. Just as Cyber Monday reshaped how consumers access the best holiday offers, the rise of eContracting is streamlining dealership F&I processes, driving new efficiencies, and enhancing customer satisfaction — all while ensuring compliance in an increasingly digital marketplace.
Beau Townsend Ford is just one example of a dealership embracing this evolution. They’ve not only accelerated their deal flow but also enhanced compliance and customer satisfaction. Here’s how their F&I transformation illustrates the future of automotive retail.
More Hands on Your Deals, Less Smiles on Your Customers
Everyone has their own method for shopping on Black Friday. Whether you’re an early-riser ready to duke it out with other shoppers or you wait until later in the day, after all the chaos has died down, we can all agree it takes quite a bit of time to shop in person. It’s a similar outcome when manually working a deal in your dealership. Filling out each piece of paperwork by hand and passing a physical deal jacket across multiple desks opens the door for unwanted mistakes. It also increases the amount of time a customer spends in your F&I office.
Chris York, F&I manager at Beau Townsend Ford, states: “Before eContracting, completing a deal was a slow, cumbersome process. The deal jacket would pass through multiple hands, delaying funding and titles, and making the entire experience more laborious for both us and the customer.” A paper process means deals take longer to wrap up, with more hassles for everyone involved.
One-Stop Shop, Every Time
The birth of Cyber Monday gave shoppers a new option. Instead of driving to each store and filling a physical shopping cart, you can browse and fill an online cart before clicking “check out.” A day is cut down to an hour, instantly.
eContracting puts the same power in the hands of your F&I managers. Rather than passing around a physical deal jacket before mailing it to the lender, you can automatically attach electronic documents and share them with everyone digitally. This cuts down CIT times and makes it easier to track status in real time.
Every minute a deal sits unapproved is another minute you’re waiting for funding. According to Justin Rash (Director of IT at Beau Townsend Ford),
“With Alliance eContracting, funding can happen within hours and sometimes even minutes, depending on the lender, with no clearinghouse delays. That’s a dramatic improvement from the seven to ten day wait we used to face.” A week is cut down to mere hours, just like that.
The New Norm While you still see retailers offering in-store deals to entice customers on Black Friday, they are outweighed by the deals seen online. In 2024, the number of
online shoppers beat out in-store shoppers by almost six million people. The expectations of shoppers have shifted to a quicker, easier process.
This focus on efficiency is also reflected in both car buyers and lenders in the automotive industry. When
asked their perception of how long it should take to sign paperwork and complete F&I, almost 40 percent of all Customers answered “30-59 minutes.” Another 40 percent answered “less than 20 minutes.” Lenders want to see fewer mistakes and have started prioritizing digital deals. How does your process live up to these expectations?
Justin Rash has the following words for any dealerships still hesitating to adopt eContracting:
“What started as a customer-focused change has turned out to be equally beneficial for the dealership, delivering a better experience, better compliance, and faster funding. Customers expect digital now, and this process is better for everyone involved.” Getting ahead of the curve now could be the difference between adapting to today’s new norm and ending up like the department stores of yesterday.
