7:18 am, January 26, 2023
Despite the rise of online car sales, physical car dealerships are still crucial to the buying journey, says Google.
The search giant will reveal its latest research into how important a blended approach to car sales is at Car Dealer Live.
The search giant is scheduled to make a key address to attendees at our forthcoming conference, sponsored by Auto Trader.
The Google session will be part of Car Dealer Live, the future of the car dealer, which will be held at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon, on March 9.
Ben Gault, automotive industry manager for Google UK, will deliver the search giant’s research which will look at the growing importance of omni-channel retailing for car dealers.
More than half of tickets for the event have now been sold with 10 per cent of the ticket sales being donated to automotive industry charity Ben.
Streaming tickets for those people who cannot make the event in person are also available.
In a video interview, which you can watch above, Gault said: ‘We’re going to be sharing our latest release of Gearshift, which is an in-depth consumer panel survey on the modern journey of how used car buyers are currently buying their cars.
‘We’ll be covering facts such as how online heavy the used car journey is. So 88 per cent of consumers will use an online source to help research their journey.
‘Facts such as within that process we know that they’re making those decisions in under a month and despite the rise of e-commerce, we still know that the buyers are very rooted in buying from physical dealerships.’
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Google’s Gault said that some of the ‘biggest conversations’ the firm is having with car dealers is around how they set their businesses up for ‘bricks and clicks’ car sales.
Gault added: ‘Some of the trickiest conversations we’re having with our businesses and clients is around the role of omni-channel.
‘We know through the research we’ll be sharing that a consumer will be flipping between online and offline. And it’s a key area that businesses can win if they can help create a seamless journey for users between online and offline.
‘Omni channel as a process is something that is really key for the car industry going forward and certainly for retailers.’
Car Dealer Live will also feature white paper research sessions from Auto Trader, Cox Automotive and Close Brothers Motor Finance.
Leading franchised and independent car dealers, as well as car manufacturer bosses, will also be interviewed on the live stage.
Mark Lavery, CEO of Cambria Automobiles will be the headline interviewee talking about how he took the dealer group private and what he thinks the future holds for car dealers.
You can find out more details and book your tickets on the dedicated Car Dealer Live website.
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