In today's digital era, the process of purchasing a car has evolved beyond traditional methods. Gone are the days when it solely involved test drives and visits to physical showrooms. Now, a significant part of the car-buying journey takes place online, where consumers explore a variety of vehicles, and various financing options from the comfort of their own homes, at a time that suits them, and often, that time is out of normal showroom hours.
At iVendi, we've been closely examining how online motor finance is reshaping the way people shop for vehicles. Through our latest research of 1000 used car buyers, Driving Future Success: Five Key Trends in Online Vehicle Retail, we've uncovered some fascinating insights into consumer behaviour and preferences in this digital landscape.
Increasing Demand for Online Vehicle Finance Tools
One of the most significant findings from our research is the increasing demand for access to online vehicle finance tools among consumers. However, despite this demand, many of these tools are often buried deep within a vehicle retailers websites, making them challenging to find. This presents a significant hurdle, as transparent quotations—where buyers can clearly see monthly costs—hold tremendous sway in the purchasing decision, often outweighing the importance of the vehicle's price itself.
Empowering Buyers with User-Friendly Solutions
To address this challenge and empower buyers, it's essential for online vehicle finance tools to be prominently featured, easy to navigate, and presented in a user-friendly format. By offering a range of options and quotes from multiple lenders, retailers can provide consumers with the flexibility and transparency they crave, ultimately driving engagement and sales.
Crafting Seamless Shopping Experiences
For retailers, embracing online finance options isn't just about opening another sales channel—it's about crafting a seamless and engaging shopping experience. By prioritising accessibility and clarity, retailers can enhance customer satisfaction and drive sales. However, our research reveals a significant hurdle: consumers often struggle to find online finance information on retailer websites.
Meeting Buyer Expectations
According to our data, 67% of consumers seek vehicle info, 62% search for retailer details, and 55% pursue finance info. This underscores the clear need for retailers to enhance their digital offerings. Front-and-centre placement, ease of use, and clear presentation are crucial to meeting buyer expectations in today's fast-paced world.
Adapting to Changing Consumer Habits
We discovered that nearly half of vehicle buyers will seek finance options from retailers, while a significant number will turn to online brokers as well. This indicates a noticeable change in consumer habits, emphasising the need for retailers to provide competitive and user-friendly online finance solutions, like multi-lender finance tools, to stay competitive in today's market.
Expert Insights: Addressing Concerns
Rob Severs, SVP Products & Insights at iVendi says, "Visible and transparent quotations, where consumers can clearly see the monthly cost, are enormously influential factors in a buying journey – far more so than a vehicle’s price in most cases.
Online vehicle finance tools must be clearly visible, easy to use, and serve up information in a format that is digestible for the buyer. They should also offer as much choice as possible and the provision of quotes from multiple lenders can be a powerful addition, here.
This is especially important when competing against online motor finance providers who retain 100% of the finance commission and often charge a fee for introducing the consumer to the dealer. Offering online motor finance on your website helps retailers compete against these expensive ‘finance first’ solutions."
Join Us in Shaping the Future
At iVendi, we're committed to propelling the future of car buying forward. If you would like to explore the trends shaping online motor retail, dive into our free white paper, "Driving Future Success: Five Key Trends in Online Motor Retail," available for download now!