Weekend thought starter: What selling kayaks and cars have in common, from Dealertrack.
I bought a kayak today. I didn’t intend to at the start of the morning, but you know how it goes…the time and the price just seemed right. Truth is, I had been thinking about and researching the purchase off and on for a few weeks, but with no real sense of urgency. I was out to buy mulch, for goodness sakes, but happened to notice a version of the kayak I wanted, on sale. Yet instead of giving in to the impulse to buy, I quickly whipped out my phone, tapped in the model and found, within seconds, that similar kayaks were selling at other stores. I was showrooming, comparing product features and pricing. An hour later I arrived home with 10 feet of plastic boat from the store that had the best combination of price, color and features.
Okay. What does a $400 boat have to do with automotive retail, or the software that helps dealerships buy and sell cars? Well, lots. But one thing is the simple and unmistakable fact that mobile technology has changed everything about the way people make purchases of all kinds. Today, the expectation is that inventory, pricing and availability is accurate and presented in a mobile-friendly way, no matter what the inventory might be. The expectation is that the mobile experience will be crisp, fast and correct from search box to shopping cart.
Not nice to have. Not optional. Expected.
