It is no surprise; American shoppers are spending more time and money than ever before online. This surge in e-commerce has created a new breed of customer and economy dubbed the “engagement economy.” 

Statistics show a dramatic rise in online shopping in the past four years. A prime example is the 2022 Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend seeing sales total $20.43 billion. That number jumped in 2023 to an estimated $28.8 billion. Many consumers are making online purchases every week.

Why Your Dealership Website Needs a Shift

As people interact more online, they begin to judge the quality of their services and experiences based on their engagement. The result is the “engagement economy.” Economic value, client satisfaction and company growth are all inextricably tied to client engagement.

While traditional in-person engagement is still critical, it alone is no longer enough to meet clients' expectations. To succeed, traditional relationships must be supplemented with strong digital engagement.

For car dealerships, this translates to websites that mirror the positive online shopping experience customers have elsewhere. A dealership’s website is the battleground for converting digital window shoppers into potential buyers. Falling short on the digital experience can be the difference between a sale and a lost opportunity.

Dealership Websites Are Stuck in First Gear

The current state of the digital experience for many car dealerships starts with intrusive contact forms demanding personal information upfront, offering nothing in return, and creating a frustrating delay for the shopper. 

If a shopper manages to stick around after the contact form, they’re often met with disjointed shopping steps. Separate tools for trade-in valuation, test drive scheduling or financing require the buyer to jump through hoops to find the information they need or require repetitive information entry. 

And say a buyer gets interrupted by a phone call at work, a kid at home or any number of potential interruptions that pull them away from the website at that moment, many dealership websites today require them to start from the beginning when they revisit the site. Missing shopping carts require them to re-enter information a second time, click away from that annoying contact form, and click through multiple tools to find the right one. All to shape a frustrated customer who at best has a terrible experience buying a vehicle and at worst leaves a review to match the experience. 

Which online experiences are shaping customer expectations? 

• Convenience reigns supreme: An article by the National Retail Federation “Convenience and The Customer” said 83% of shoppers prioritize convenience more today than ever before. This means offering round-the-clock shopping capabilities. 

• Mobile-first matters: A mobile-friendly website is no longer a luxury; it’s a necessity. 

• Frictionless shopping: Customers crave an uninterrupted path to purchase. A recent McKinsey & Co. survey revealed 75% of shoppers prioritize an easy-to-navigate shopping journey – whether online or in-store, ranking it as the most important aspect of their shopping experience. 

• Self-service with support: While some shoppers prefer to answer questions independently, others value the option of live assistance. Invesp, a conversion optimization company, reported that customers prefer a chatbot because it gives them the ability to multitask and avoid phone calls. However, the desire for human interaction remains strong, Drift (Salesloft) indicating in its 2023 Conversations Trends Report a 250% increase in requests for live support between 2022 and 2023. Nearly 60% of U.S customers value the ability to interact with a person for a positive customer experience, according to Mintel in its 2024 Global Consumer Trends report.

• Easy re-engagement: Shoppers abandon online processes for various reasons. The key is to make it effortless for them to pick up where they left off. 

Bottom Line: It’s all About Your Customer

Take a walk in your customer’s digital shoes. Does your website offer a seamless experience, guiding shoppers through the process, eliminating information re-entry and offering options for both self-service and live help? Can consumers easily resume their shopping journeys if they leave and come back? 

Enlist the help of a friend or family member – someone who represents your target audience but is less familiar with your website. Ask them to navigate your website like a typical car shopper – researching the car they want, seeking answers to questions about trade-in value, financing and after-market add-on options. Ask them to compare their experience to their online shopping habits for other products. Take it one step further and analyze your website data to see where shoppers seem most engaged, where they drop off, and which tools are giving them the most trouble. 

In today’s digital age, car dealerships that prioritize a customer-centric experience – both in-store and online – will be the ones driving sales and leaving the competition in the dust.

Bob Lanham is senior vice president of retail development at CarNow.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was authored and edited according to F&I and Showroom editorial standards and style. Opinions expressed may not reflect that of the publication.