As car shopping and selling continues to transform, contactless home delivery grows and more than 60% of recent buyers say they want their local dealers to deliver and RunBuggy is here to help your dealership!
The stay-at-home economy is understandably driving trends toward home cooking and home improvement projects, but surprisingly, it is creating a surge in buying cars delivered directly to consumers’ homes, as well. New research finds that 61% of recent car buyers said they would want their newly purchased car delivered at home from their local dealership and dealers are responding in kind: Local dealerships offering home delivery services are up 35% since March
Consumers are finding new ways to purchase their new or used cars from local dealerships, leaning on real-time messaging and chat functionality, virtual vehicle walk-arounds and test drives with video, completing financing and trade-ins online, and receiving their newly purchased car delivered on the same day right to their driveway. Juggling homeschooling and working from home, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of virtual car-buying tools and contactless home delivery options from both shoppers and sellers.
RunBuggy, the largest open car transportation marketplace, provides a lifeline to local dealerships during showroom closures and the new era of social distancing by offering auto delivery that is 100% digital with transparent tracking capabilities. Dealers can quickly see where their vehicles in-transport are in real time via any internet connected device.
Research is showing that demand is growing for home delivery and virtual car-buying options from dealerships;
· People are still buying carsand the main reason is COVID-19. Of those who purchased a car within the last six months, 57% said it was due to the pandemic.3
· The pandemic accelerated online car shopping and buying. Walk-in traffic to dealership showrooms is still down 15% nationwide, largely replaced by digital visits as consumers prefer to stay home and shop from afar. And 57% of recent buyers said they conducted the bulk of the vehicle transaction online with their local dealership. Online buying is highest in New York (81%) and Los Angeles (73%), followed by Chicago (65%), Atlanta (64%) and Dallas (63%)
· Consumers are engaging more with dealers who offer virtual services. Since launching its new Virtual Appointment and Home Delivery badges on its website to indicate which dealers are offering these services, reports show an increase of 30% in contact and user engagement for dealers offering home delivery and virtual options versus those still offering the traditional showroom experience
· Dealers are meeting consumers on their turf — their homes. In March, at the start of the pandemic, 49% of dealers said they offered home delivery services. By August, 66% offered the services, an increase of 35% in less than half a year. Approximately 20% of recent car buyers used home delivery from their local dealership, while 61% of recent buyers state they would use this service from their local dealership if it were offered, showing sustained interest in this growing trend.
