INSIDE INFORMATION
WHO NEEDS CAR dealerships? A provocative question, of course, but pertinent. Back in the day it took multiple trips to a retailer in order to research, compare and buy a new car. Statistics suggest that the average number peaked at around seven in the 1990s, fell to three in the 2000s and now hovers somewhere between one and two.
The reasons for the decline are pretty obvious: chiefly, the internet has made traipsing around an unnecessary chore, but it must also be a factor that cars are consistently better than ever (lessening any risk of buying a lemon) and the soaring complexity of model line-ups (especially before new emissions regulations simplified things) meant dealerships would often struggle to have the model or trim you wanted available for a test drive anyway.
Those realities combined with trusted third-party reviews being an online click away, often complete with a pre-haggled discount available, too. Meanwhile, manufacturer websites continually improved and now almost always include the chance to spec and pay for your car online, as well as offering a variety of live chat and video services to give personalised tours of vehicles. Impressive though modern dealerships are, the convenience and quality of these digital services have been hard to resist.
Digital developments were accelerated in the pandemic, when visiting a dealership was, at times, impossible, but when (before we all knew what a semiconductor was) car sales boomed. For a while it seemed as though the dealership’s role would be in permanent decline – and, of course, this is one reason why manufacturers rushed towards agency sales.
But here’s the kicker: research and purchase are very different things – and the vast majority of buyers still want to do the latter in person.
