The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted nearly every segment of our daily lives. Car purchase process, before the pandemic, used to be a time and effort intensive task that also involved physical visits to the dealerships and brands of your choice.
A recent study conducted across the UK has pointed towards a major shift in this trend. We have achieved such a fast paced and effective digitalization over the past few months that the auto sales industry has also changed in a big way.
Now, the large part of the car purchase process is being completed by most customers online. According to experts that have been in the online selling platforms of cars, this is a major change in the consumer behavior over the past few months.
As a result of this trend, most car showrooms and dealerships have witnessed a major drop in customer visits. This remained the case, even after the easing of Covid-19 related restrictions across the country.
What car dealers and retailers are now relying upon are digital channels and Augmented Reality (AR) to give prospective buyers the experience they desire. The initial part of serving online car buyers is making the maximum product information available online.
This makes the car purchase process a whole lot easier, simpler and safer for the customers. In this situation, even if a customer decides to visit a car dealership, this would mostly be done in the final stages of the purchase process.
All the other decision elements, leading up to the purchase itself, would be completed via online channels. One notable car brand is now even leveraging digital tech like Augmented Reality (AR) to give customers an ultimate online shopping experience.
AR based car selling platforms allow online customers to experience all the key elements of their shortlisted car, from the comfort and safety of their homes. These attributes include the true dimensions of the car, its interior, color combinations and a lot more.
How digitalization and Augmented Reality (AR) truly shape the auto sector in the coming months is still yet to be seen. One thing is for sure though, car brands will have to increase and improve their online presence to persuade the car buyers of today.
