The future of online motor retail lies in the digital sphere, according to James Tew, chief executive of iVendi. He believes that greater personalisation to the needs of individual consumers would yield better results for the industry.
“This is really about the parallel development of big data and technology that allows progressively more tailored online journeys to be created,” explained Tew.
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“What big data provides is information about likely customer needs. If you know just a few facts about a customer then, based on previous behaviour by others who fit a similar profile, there is a strong chance they will have similar needs. Your systems can immediately start to offer them options that are probably very relevant.”
In the future, Tew thinks the motor industry could see a move to a more Amazon-style service, where relevant, personalised products are made available to customers using artificial intelligence technology.
“So far, online motor retail has not really operated in this way. To some extent, that is because the process of searching for and financing a car is so much more complicated, along with a slower level of innovation within automotive retailing,” added Tew.
“However, we now generally know the cars of interest to the consumer, their budget, their geography and potentially their affordability and creditworthiness. This allows us to narrow down options immediately to simplify their online journey.
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By GlobalDataTew concluded: “The fact is that people are increasingly habitualised to online shopping being as easy as possible and the motor industry needs to emulate that model. With increasing amounts of data being gathered and analysed, we are starting to meet that need.”
iVendi also found that the online motor finance market has seen greater conversion rates since the implementation of GDPR in May last year.
Tew suggested that the revelation could serve as a valuable lesson for iVendi and the wider industry, that regulation could create a boost to business.
