There’s no denying that the coronavirus pandemic has changed the landscape of the economy, including the automotive business. Many potential buyers had put their car purchases on hold to make way for essential purchases like groceries, medicine, and sanitizers. This meant that, in order to save their businesses, car dealers must take some drastic measures to close deals.
According to a Subaru dealership in Albuquerque, they are taking a closer look at how they can change the ways they handle transactions.
What should car dealers do during the pandemic
With social distancing and stay-at-home orders in effect, it’s near impossible for customers to visit a Subaru in Albuquerque and personally haggle prices with a salesperson. To work around this, car dealers must follow the emerging trend of doing business–conduct online selling and remote transactions. This will allow buyers to make a purchase without stepping foot inside the showroom.
E-commerce has been around for some time. Back then, car dealers seemed to shy away from online selling, preferring to meet customers and conduct transactions face-to-face. However, with the current pandemic not showing any signs of slowing down, they have decided that it’s high time to practice e-commerce.
One of the biggest business strategies of auto dealerships is to invest in new digital sales tools to keep up with customers’ demands. Transactions are made more flexible, as shoppers are now able to choose how much of the process they want to be conducted online – from delivery test drives to discussing available financing options. There are even some that allow their clients to book an online appointment for extra services like complete cleaning and sanitization of vehicles.
What e-commerce means to the future of automotive industry
The fear that this might be the death of traditional showrooms is definitely unfounded. In fact, e-commerce had only raised the bar for traditional showrooms to do much better in terms of sanitization. The sales from the physical showroom and online platform can be combined to yield a more profitable business.
As per a Subaru dealership in Albuquerque, while shoppers may look online and pinpoint the exact vehicle they wanted, most of them still want to set an appointment, test drive, and make sure that it really is the right car for them. If ever, it will be a win-win situation for auto dealers to combine both sales strategies.
While the online sales are not completely supplementing the temporary loss of traditional sales due to the pandemic, it guarantees that the business is still up and running until such time that the worst of the pandemic passes.
Is it a good time to buy a car now?
If you can afford it, then the simple answer is yes. In fact, car shopping just became more flexible and more rewarding despite the pandemic. Car dealers and lenders are offering some very enticing deals to attract shoppers like deferred payments, low interest incentives, and discount programs. Though some showrooms remain closed, you can still conduct your shopping online. If you are more of a traditionalist, you can still contact your car dealer and set an appointment to make the purchase.
Need to know more about flexible car shopping? Check out Fiesta Subaru car dealer in the Albuquerque, NM area.
