Coronavirus: Why Effective Online Car Shopping Tools Matter

Amid fears around the coronavirus outbreak affecting the health of millions around the world; the auto industry is particularly at risk with China as its fastest-growing producer and marketplace.

Moreover, specifically, in the capital of Hubei of the People's Republic of China, Wuhan, where the coronavirus originated, has emerged as a major international producer and exporter of car parts and components.

Throughout China, industrial modernization has created a robust domestic auto industry. More significantly, a supply chain manufacturing boom with a hub in Wuhan servicing vehicles built and sold all over the world, including the US and Europe.

The Coronavirus is Making an Enormous Impact in China

The coronavirus already has an enormous impact on the economy and productivity in China. As a major link in the global automotive parts and component supply chain, the U.S. and other major international markets are bracing for a slowdown in new car deliveries with the associated slump in automotive sales and service revenue. 

From a practical standpoint, the fear of human-to-human contact spread of the virus makes the automobile showroom a target-rich environment for spreading the contagion. There is already evidence of a sharp drop-off in traffic at many retail establishments from stores to theaters to restaurants, that is certain to strike dealership showrooms.

Aside from liberal use of high priced sanitizing liquids, not touching your face, "social distancing" and sneezing into your elbow, there's not else you can do to combat the spread on the sales floor. However, the boredom, frustration and lack of productivity of enduring light customer showroom traffic is not the only option.

Effective Digital Marketing Powers Through The Crisis

In the current digital marketing era, the retail process never stops because of a medical crisis or interrupted operating hours or any other unforeseen circumstance. A car dealership with the right digital tools and capabilities can keep the pipeline of customers flowing at times like this.

"This health crisis will be like adding jet fuel to an already exploding segment of retail. Amazon and a handful of others will be the beneficiaries of a windfall," says Doug Stephens Author of "Reengineering Retail: The Future of Selling in a Post-Digital World."

More than 75% of consumers are conducting up to 9 hours of webroom research on their mobile devices prior to choosing a dealership.

321 Ignition has a platform that provides younger car buyers the User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) speed and functionality they expect.

321 Ignition is Mobile-First

"Mobile-First" is the basis of the 321 Ignition innovation advance. It's more effective to design a website for mobile, first. Then adapt for desktop and laptop viewing, as opposed to creating websites for desktop and "optimizing for mobile" later.

In terms of SEO, 321 Ignition Dealer websites have a better user experience and are ahead of competitors. Including load times and overall effectiveness of distributing marketing messaging.

Younger car shoppers base their shopping choices on how easy, informative and transparent the website is. Lyamen Savy is the CEO and founder of 321 Ignition and a former Senior Global Marketing Manager for Microsoft. Clinging to outdated web techniques, will cause autothe further they will fall behind in servicing the largest automotive market in history.

Generation Z alone makes up 32% of the U.S. population.  Millennials and Generation Z combined comprise a significant amount of buyers in the auto market. They already showing signs of exceeding the Boomers.

"These younger consumers have made instant access to value-added information a priority in their buying patterns," Savy said. "Our web platform for auto dealerships addresses the key information that they are interested in and provide the transparency in pricing and features that make them comfortable doing business with our dealership clients."

As we continue to walk through the unknowns of the coronavirus—the right website and online marketing tools matter more than ever.