To Engage Online Shoppers, Offer Personalization, Visualization, Gamification

Ninety-eight percent of the people who go to an auto dealer’s website leave without doing anything. If dealers want to make the most of the marketing dollars they’ve spent to bring people to their site, they need to add something that will encourage them to stay.

Many dealers use stock images and videos of cars, but these don’t necessarily show the cars they have on the lot — and they’re not something the visitor can interact with. Instead, dealers need something that engages the visitor.

“This is the age of TikTok. People like something that’s interactive, something they can connect with,” Tej Soni, CEO of izmocars, told PYMNTS when sharing that data.

Gamifying the Shopping Experience

On March 9, izmocars announced the launch of a CGI-powered 3D virtual showroom experience that can be embedded in auto dealer websites. Dubbed izmoEmporio, it allows users to personalize the car — for example, changing the color and wheels and adding a moonroof visor, spoiler and roof rack.

“If you can get a customer who visualizes and says, ‘This is the car I want, and this is the Honda CR-V Hybrid EX and this is the car I’m looking for,’ it’s a very specific request, the customer has invested his time in getting to this point building the car,” Soni said.

After building a virtual car, shoppers can share what they’ve built on social media. Plus, when they click the “Get a Quote” button to submit a purchase inquiry, the auto dealer can see the car as the customer configured it, so they can include the accessories in the quote.

“This is basically the gamechanger because it’s gamification, it’s what customers would like to see on the website,” Soni said.

Trending Toward Build-to-Order

This has become especially important at a time when it’s less likely that customers will find the car they want sitting on a dealer’s lot. Citing a recent Cox study, Soni said that 41% of consumers plan to preorder their next vehicle.

The industry has moved dramatically because of COVID, the shortage of chips and the shortage of cars, Soni said. It used to be that automakers would manufacture a lot of cars that were configured based on their understanding of what customers want, dealers would sell from what they had in stock at a discount and customers would point to a car on the lot and buy it if given a deal.

“That’s changed,” Soni said. “Today we’re seeing a big trend where even the brands are thinking, ‘Hey, why don’t we give them the tools to pick the car they want and we’ll build it for you.’”

With the current shortage, automakers are now building what the customer wants, dealers are selling it with a healthy profit margin and customers realize they will have to wait to get the car they want.

“That’s going to be good for everybody because dealers will finally start seeing some profit in new car sales, consumers will get the cars they want and the supply chain will be more optimized,” Soni said.

Enabling Personalization and Visualization

In addition, customers benefit because they can choose the accessories they want without having to step up to a trim package that also includes other items too.

“I think the customer will pay the right price for what they want instead of paying for things they don’t want,” Soni said. “The ability to choose and select what they want is going to be a very big deal.”

In this new process, the ability to personalize and visualize the product online is key. It keeps shoppers on the site, allows them to interact with it and enables them to see an accurate representation of the vehicle they’ll be buying.

“If you look at every other industry, whether it’s real estate or something, they’re using 3D very well,” Soni said. “Today, if you want to buy or rent an apartment, they’ll give you a 3D view of the apartment so you can do it remotely. That visualization is very, very important in the online experience.”

Catering to an Emotional Purchase

Izmocars has been producing content for the automotive industry for 20 years, and recent advances in technology have made it easier to embed dynamic 3D content into websites.

In a few months, this 3D virtual showroom product will also be available as a complete virtual reality experience so that consumers will be able to put on a headset and feel that they’re sitting in the car.

“Cars are not a logical purchase,” Soni said. “You don’t buy a car by saying, ‘Oh, this is the price, this is the size of the wheelbase, I’m going to buy it.’ It’s an emotional purchase.”