Used Car Online Retailing Set to Soar in 2021
Will Amazon begin retailing vehicles in 2021? Probably not, but buyers want the same experience.
The new Mitsubishi Outlander recently became the first new vehicle to be revealed on Amazon. It was reported back in 2017 that Amazon was going to start selling vehicles in Europe, with Renault and PSA both confirming they had held talks with the eCommerce giant.
Since then, Amazon has remained quiet, though the rest of the market has been anything but.
The 3Cs; Cazoo, Cinch, and Carzam, have entered the battle for the UK’s used car stock and sports shirts in equal measure. Cazoo has marched on from fixing the retailing market and is well on its way to attempting the same in leasing in the UK, and now Europe with the acquisitions of Drover and Cluno.
There’s certainly room for more than one player according to AM Online, who claim 85% of consumers visit multiple sites to search for choice and price.
This means there is a large space for not only the digital disruptors to sell online, but also for the traditional dealers to adapt too. G-Forces recently reported a ten-fold increase in the value of transactions on its white-label platform for dealers to over £500m in 2020.
Clearly, the closure of retail forecourts over the past 12 months has played a significant role in the growth of the online channel, but, is it here to stay?
It would appear so. Finance Digest reports that 87% of all current car owners would consider buying their next vehicle entirely online. This percentage will only increase over time as a staggering 96% of millennials would buy online.
Many bricks and mortar dealers need to take action to future-proof their operating model for this shift in consumer behaviour. AM Online’s research confirmed that only 74% of franchise dealers currently offer home delivery and only 72% of independents.
Whilst Amazon is unlikely to step foot into vehicle retailing, consumers will nevertheless expect a similar experience from dealers. If you’d like to speak with us about how you might plug in Engineius’ on-demand vehicle movement solution to facilitate online sales, we’d be delighted to speak with you.