The automotive industry will be seeing sporadic changes as website optimization takes the helm in spurring businesses forward— faster and smarter. These two words are what automotive ecommerce is all about.
If you’re an entrepreneur vying for one of the top spots in automotive sales in your area and across regions, check out these industry trends that are currently gaining a monstrous momentum.
4 Trends In Automotive Ecommerce
1. Purchasing Vehicles Online
Here’s a trend that has been seeing a rapid increase in the recent few years, and will continue to grow exponentially into the future. Buying cars via the web.
Researches show how the buying behaviour of potential new-car owners has changed over the years. At present, over 50% of car shoppers turn to online channels to scout for vehicles for sale. And according to recent studies, more than 70% of them compare prices through web surfing, while about 60% log onto their favoured search engines to compare car types and features.
2. Social Media Influence
Another study shows that 22% of car buyers are influenced by comments and feedback they read about on social media. At the same time, they scour through dealership pages and confirm information they come across on third-party websites and on social media channels.
You might be thinking that 22% doesn’t seem too high of a number. But if you go back in history and realize that that number was nonexistent just a few years back, the sudden rise in social media reliance for automotive information is quite staggering. And in the best way possible, especially if you’ve already partnered with an SEO firm that can take care of both your website and social media strategies for you.
3. Virtual Showrooms
It’s true that a global pandemic is what raised the bars for this technological development. The purpose of virtual car shows was to encourage people to stay home and practice social distancing, to keep safe from the virus and prevent it from spreading further.
However, car buyers have already been keen on online car showrooms as far back as 2015. Audi, the German automobile manufacturer famous for its line of luxury vehicles, paved the way for VR viewing. It offered features that allowed customers to automatically change virtual vehicles’ colours, interior and exterior design, parts, and more, in a single click.
Now that more than half a decade has passed, dealerships and manufacturers have upped the ante for online showroom user-friendliness and customer experience.
4. Enhanced Websites
Gone are the days when websites were a mere collection of car photos slabbed with bits and pieces of information of the cars therein. Today, a sleek web design is a major player. This includes crisp layouts, HD images and videos, and eye-catching but not eye-irritating colour schemes.
Add to that easy-to-use Browse and Search functions, speedy page loading, streamlined information, plus easy-to-read content and blogs. Yes, content marketing is a priority in this mix and will remain so.
Apart from these, website searchability is crucial, too. This is why optimization should always go hand-in-hand with website and content management.
Besides having dashingly brilliant-looking business sites, optimization through keywords and key-phrases related to your enterprise, backlinking, target audience gathering, localizing, and much, much more— these work together to make your automobile website gain a competitive edge above the rest.
