Digital Dealer - September 2019 - 38

M A R K E T ING & ADVERT ISING: Cu sto m e r Experi ence

By Melanie Borden
VP of Marketing,
Celebrity Motor Cars

Digital Retailing:
Part 1: What is
Digital Retailing?
If you're like many in
this industry, who are
researching digital retailing,
but not quite finding the
information they're looking
for, and left with minimal
resources, I invite you along
our journey into digital
retailing. Over the next
coming months in Dealer
Magazine, I will share a
series of articles based on
my experience going to
market with a digital retailing
solution and the impact that
it (may) have on overall
business both online or
in-store; with pros and cons
included. Let's dig in!

WHAT IS DIGITAL
RETAILING?

It's called the "Pajama
Shopping" effect. Ever
heard of it? I am sure you
have had customers come
into your showroom wearing
them, but this is something
different. Pajama Effect is
never having to leave your
sofa and being able to order
almost anything you want
from the comfort of your
own home on your phone,
tablet or computer. As a
working mom, the pajama
effect works for me and I bet
it works for you too. I order
everything online, groceries
included (especially now
that Amazon Prime delivers
38

SEPTEMBER 2019

Whole Foods 365 brand!)
Some basic benefits of
shopping in your PJ's that
I have found are: No lines
to wait on. Stores are open
24/7/365. No salespeople to
follow up with you or follow
you around (although, you
will see a retargeting ad
remind you what you were
looking at) and lastly my
favorite, reviews are listed
usually next to the item you
are shopping for. The list
goes on and on, you can
come up with a few more
practical benefits based on
your own experiences.
It apparently works for
others too and not just for
moms on the go. Here are a
few stats worth mentioning
that I discovered during my
research:
 1.92 billion people will
buy something online in
2019 (via Hosting Facts)
 72% of e-commerce
will take place on a mobile
device by 2021 (via Statista)
 According to NPR, the
top five determining factors
for shopping online are
speed, getting to the store,
the price of an item, shipping rates, and availability
of items.
 U.S. e-commerce sales
are estimated to reach
$690.84 billion by 2020,

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

increasing to $891.7 billion
by 2022 (via EMarketer)
 The e-commerce
market in the automotive industry to grow at six percent
compound annual growth
rate from 2018 to 2023 (via
Market Research Future)
So now that we're all
caught up on what's happening online in the retail
market, I am sure you are
asking now, so what is
digital retailing?
Well, it depends on who
you ask. For customers
shopping for cars online,
it means they can work
their own deal, complete a
finance application/paperwork online, and lastly pick
up the car at the dealership
or have the car delivered to
their home. For retailers, it
may mean the customers
are going to build out the
deal halfway through the
process and finish up the
transaction in-store OR
completing everything within
the transaction from start
to finish on the dealership
website, giving the customer what appears to be full
control of their purchase.
According to Roadster,
a digital retailing provider,
digital retailing is defined
as a way for automotive
retailers to "automate

every step of the purchase
process, from how customers submit their trade-in
and credit info to how you
communicate and manage
the deal jacket." Dealer
Inspire, another retailing
provider refers to their online tool as "CAR-BUYING
AS EASY AS 1-2-3." "With a
simple three-step checkout
process, once a consumer knows which car they
want, it can be reserved at
a dealership in a matter of
seconds."
Given the amount of information for consumers on
the Internet, regarding vehicles, along with the fluidity
and ease of use with online
shopping in other retail
channels; it's clear having
the option to purchase
online is a benefit. Bottom
line customers want control,
transparency, and information. However, they still want
to be able to test-drive a
vehicle and come into the
brick-and-mortar store for
the car buying experience.
Stay tuned as the next
few months, I'll dive deeper
into my in-store and online
journey through digital
retailing.
MELANIE BORDEN, a Fashion
Institute of Technology graduate,
has spent the majority of her
14+ year marketing career in
the automotive tech industry.
Melanie has worked in various
atmospheres from social media
startups to a public tech company
in consulting, marketing, and
business development roles.
Presently, she is the VP of
marketing for Tom Maoli's
Celebrity Motor Cars auto
group where she develops and
implements all facets of the
marketing strategy and built the
in-house advertising agency.
http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Digital Dealer - September 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - September 2019
