5 Keys to Better Digital Retailing for Dealers and Lenders

Recently, the automotive industry has faced challenges meeting consumer demand for better digital retailing solutions. Dealers, OEMs, and a proliferation of technology companies have tried to crack the code. They are beginning to enable a seamless and personalized car shopping experience for their consumers. Based on our insights into the industry, here are five facts about digital retailing. 

#1 Consumers want a frictionless experience.

Consumers expect a tailored digital experience. You need one that deploys the right level of friction at the right points. It is important to have enough information to ensure the customer is who they say they are without making it too invasive. If too invasive they may drop out of their search. Digital retailing makes it easier and faster to get the information they need.

#2 Consumers want to understand early what vehicle and deals they qualify for.

Dealers need to make sure they are getting essential consumer information while preventing fraud -- and maintaining a great customer experience at the same time. Consumers who’ve now grown up in an on demand world expect you to make accurate and timely suggestions for them.

#3 Data solutions are a necessity.

Personalizing your customer experience by leveraging data is an effective way to streamline the sales process. What used to take many face to face encounters, can now be assessed digitally. This allows salespeople to become experts on their customers beyond their credit before even meeting them. Making car buying seamless for both the customer and dealer. A  true “win-win.”

#4 Fraud protection is a must.

However, it can’t come at the expense of the customer experience. 
Fraudsters are a real threat in the auto industry. Installing simple processes, like MFA and frictionless mobile identification allows dealers to calculate a pre-qualified offer with minimum friction points for the customer. This allows for better consumer experience but adds friction when needed to help protect dealers from fraud. 

#5 More data can make a digital retailing deal more likely.

Knowing your customer and who they are is key to success. Empowering your customer to say yes by customizing an offer based on them will help you to succeed. Things like a soft pull tool can help. Recently, Equifax did a study on the impact of delivering a prequalified experience to car shoppers of what we would call a soft pull on the consumer's credit file. We found that consumers who use a soft pull solution while shopping online are 31% more likely to purchase a vehicle in 30 days or less. 31% is a big lift, and demonstrates how we leverage this kind of data to help advance a sale.

Equifax is helping our partners navigate the digital journey

At Equifax, we are helping our customers find innovative ways to help improve their customer experience throughout the digital journey. Our advanced identification and authentication solutions can help dealers reduce risk by verifying consumer identity, while providing consumer insights to help target personalized offers and incentives for customers in the digital ecosystem.

Dealers can use our marketing insights to mine their own CRM database to find potential buyers or to find customers that are likely to come in for service which is more important now than ever. Dealers that identify potential service customers or qualified buyers and effectively match them with customized vehicle options while moving them through the process quickly and seamlessly are positioning themselves to win in this current environment and beyond. Only Equifax can bring consumer insights into the buying process to ensure a customized buying process from start to finish.