Digital Dealer - November 2017 - 38

By Ilana Zur
Head of Business
Development,
AutoLeadStar

COMMUNICATIONS

APRIL 21-23, 2015 * TAMPA, FL
APRIL 21-23 * TAMPA, FL

The Online Shopping Experience
Has Radically Changed. Your
Dealership Can Reap the Benefits.
Recently, I experienced what felt like
walking out of a time
machine: I returned to the
US after five years living
abroad. Getting back into
American life was mostly
intuitive, but one thing
really struck me: online
service and commerce
has moved into a whole
new league. The only way
I can describe it is
"seamlessness," and the
recent explosive growth of
high-performing, super-intelligent technology is
extremely relevant to the
automotive industry.
Of course, digital shopping itself is nothing new.
I was a regular Amazon
and FreshDirect user
before I went overseas
in 2012. The difference
is that the intelligence
and connectivity of the
technology now far surpass what they used to
be. Back then, products
on e-commerce sites
were hit or miss. Recommendations were often
off-base. Transportation
apps had unreliable bus
times. Turning your house
into a smart-tech platform
with Echodots and Alexa
was still futuristic for your
average consumer.
Now, digital service has
become seamless. Better
data, and better use of
data, allow accurate predictions and convenience
38

NOVEMBER 2017

PERSONALIZATION
IS KEY

...STUDIES SHOW THAT 48% OF
SHOPPERS WILL SPEND MORE WHEN
THE DIGITAL SHOPPING EXPERIENCE IS
PERSONALIZED.
that seemed impossible
just a few years ago. And
breakthroughs happen all
the time, as we saw in last
month's announcement
that Microsoft and Amazon's respective AI assistants, Cortana and Alexa,
would communicate with
one another.
Let's get into some
principles of this seamless digital economy and
think about how you can
implement them into your
dealership's digital shopping experience

DIGITAL SERVICE IS
EVERYWHERE - AND IT
WORKS TO THE "LAST
MILE"

I used to sign up for my
spinning class by phone,

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

but then had to arrive at
the gym 20 minutes early
to reserve my bike. Now,
I can both register for
class and actually pick my
favorite spot through my
gym's app on my phone.
Digital can complete the
transaction. I also used
to wait 15 minutes every
morning for my Starbucks
order. Now I can tap it in
on my phone and skip the
line. One day shortly after
my return, I went to get
takeout for lunch and the
salespeople were genuinely confused as to why
I had not placed the order
and asked for delivery
online. The move to digital
service across industries
has been dramatic.

I would have thought
the shift to digital would
make for far less personalized transactions. The
truth is, these experiences
now feel much more personalized. That's because
I can customize my preferences so much more,
and because the artificial
intelligence technology
behind these services
learns about me, remembering my past orders,
and making suggestions
that are actually useful. I
know that I end up spending more because my
shopping experience is so
tailored to my interests.
And it's not just me -
studies show that 48% of
shoppers will spend more
when the digital shopping
experience is personalized.
ELIMINATING
HASSLE WINS THE
CUSTOMER

Having so many
services available online
saves time and cuts
unnecessary hassle from
my day. Placing my lunch
order with one click,
skipping the Starbucks
line, ordering groceries
with much more ease - all
of these things make my
day more productive and
less stressful, and keep
me coming back to these
services.
http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - November 2017
