7:39 am, May 7, 2011
LIFESTYLE Europe has announced that it is commencing sales of new Fords on its website with the help of GForces.
Lifestyle, which has 10 multi-brand dealerships across Kent, Sussex and Surrey, will sell Ford vehicles online, and anticipates that the bulk of web-based sales will be for small mid-sized family models, such as Fiesta and Focus, typically retailing at less than £15,000.
The company anticipates that it will attract new customers through its online sales drive, and that consumer demand through its network of franchised outlets will not be adversely affected.
GForces worked closely with Lifestyle to help the dealer group devise an online sales strategy, and has supplied its all-new Auto Ecommerce platform to bring that strategy to fruition.
Auto Ecommerce will allow Lifestyle customers to browse through available stock, compare prices and reviews via What Car? data, take a virtual test drive, and enquire about finance and insurance offers before finally completing the purchase online via a highly secure payment system.
‘We‘re looking to secure our place in a new era of vehicle purchasing,’ says Peter Isted, Lifestyle Europe’s managing director. ‘Web-based car sales have grown rapidly over recent years, and the business opportunity is clear. Innovation is at the heart of our business and we have taken the decision to lead rather than follow when it comes to online new car sales.’
Tim Smith, commercial director at GForces, said: ‘Many people will continue to visit showrooms because they want to test drive a vehicle or speak face-to-face with a salesperson, even after conducting their initial research online. But, by providing the option to buy new cars through the internet, the dealer is far better equipped to operate successfully in the online marketplace of the future.
‘Auto Ecommerce is the perfect add-on to a digital dealership and includes features designed to make the customer’s experience much more compelling. The platform can be deployed within minutes and enables a dealership to embrace the next chapter of automotive retailing by taking online payment for cars. We are very excited about the new opportunities that this will bring for the industry.’
Smith believes that offering customers the convenience of buying new cars via the internet is the next logical step for car dealers: ‘With more and more of the population conducting car-buying research via smartphones and making web-based enquiries outside regular office hours, the natural route for completing a transaction will inevitably be via the dealer’s homepage. With the recent launch of a new, feature-rich car retailing website, supermarket giant Tesco has signalled its intention to tap into this online market – we advise car dealers to start doing the same.’
