The majority of car dealers and buyers agree that personalisation enabled through AI has the potential to greatly improve the car-buying process and overall ownership experience.
This is according to a survey from Cox Automotive, which found that 67% of car buyers believe personalisation technology will improve the car-buying experience. Some 63% believe the car ownership experience will also be improved by new AI technology.
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“Automotive retail is going through a period of transformation right now,” says Marianne Johnson, chief product officer at Cox Automotive. “AI is not just a buzzword. It’s already impacting the way consumers gather information about cars, learn about which car to purchase, and decide when to interact with a dealer. Artificial intelligence is also helping dealers become more efficient and transparent and deliver a better consumer experience.”
Advanced data techniques now enable companies to harvest and manage vast amounts of personal data, with some customers flagging privacy issues related to their data. However 68% of respondents indicated that they do not mind dealers using personalisation technology if it improves the overall buying experience. In addition, three quarters of consumers expect their dealer to know something about them before they arrive at the dealerships.
Some 63% of dealers agreed that the adoption of AI is necessary to adapt to changing dealership pressures, however just half of respondents said they know “a lot” about these technologies – making adoption more challenging. The top challenges cited by dealers were “not worth the cost”, “staff resistant to change”, and “would not fit current process”.
Seven in 10 dealers acknowledged that AI technology could improve efficiencies and provide time for staff to focus on other areas of the dealership. More than half of dealers also agreed that adopting automated processes can help them to deliver a better customer experience, improving retention and loyalty.
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By GlobalData“Customer interaction must be carefully managed,” warned Lori Wittman, senior vice president of Cox Automotive Dealer Software Solutions. “This new study clearly underscores what we see with customer relationship management (CRM) usage every day: New-car owners do not want to be spammed or stalked by their dealership. Having the right data at the right time to be relevant instantly is paramount to successful personalisation.”
