Last week I read a blog by automotive thought leader Dale Pollack, "More Signs of the E-Commerce Dawn in Automotive Retail". He outlined the trend that OEM's are selling direct to consumers and consumer's increasing willingness to purchase online. In this "New Dawn", Mr. Pollack points out dealers should become aware, plan and execute on this new reality. My first thought after reading this is...

"Why aren't industry experts screaming this from the roof-tops?"

Painfully obvious fact #1. The Internet has changed consumer purchasing behaviors and is continually changing those behaviors as new technologies come online. The automotive industry can learn from the financial service industry by looking at what happened after consumers gained access to information. Old school brokers said, "My clients will never purchase investments online without talking to me first?" New school asked, "How can we make purchasing investments less scary and more cost efficient?  One examples of a new school player in the automotive industry is TrueCar. They provide information to consumers via the internet consumers did not have access to before.

Painfully obvious fact #2: There will be more not less in the future. Every morning is a continuum of this "New Dawn". Dealers went to sleep last night, woke up this morning and the internet changed...again! Unfortunately, many dealers wake up to the reality of 2 years ago, not this mornings reality. The Google article, "Zero Moment of Truth", outlined this reality a few years ago and Brian Pasch does a better job than anyone educating dealers on this fact. Consumers want access, information, control and this must all be instant. Think about the buzz-word engagement and think about how providing consumers, access, information, control, in real-time. That is the strategy of the future. Not a pop-up on your website offering $25 gas card, that's a tactic.

Less Obvious Fact #3 The forecast for 2014 is strongest for vehicle sales since 2006. The fact that consumers will purchase more vehicles this year, may perpetuate the false reality that dealerships are executing the correct strategy. If vehicle sales increase 10% overall in the U.S. and your dealership grows at 5% year over year, did you have a good year? AutoNation was up 13% in November, so I would say that dealership lost ground at 5%. A dealership must grow above the industry benchmark. Public dealer groups are forecasting growth and investing in technology to leverage that consumer demand.

What Is A Dealer To Do in 2014? Dale Pollack is an industry thought leader and I think sometimes his words can be read by dealers without comprehension. He points out, "The time has come to formulate, if not execute, an e-commerce strategy at your dealership to meet the needs of customers who want more efficient, technology-enabled ways to purchase". That statements infers first dealership are executing an antiquated strategy. The strategy is antiquated because consumer behavior is changing every night. But dealers falsely believe, our strategy is the right strategy and to justify the strategy they say, "Look at our numbers". The "New Dawn" is less about the generic online leads versus engaged leads deeper in the sales cycle. That is what buying online means, going deeper into the sales cycle.

A second take away is, the processes dealerships are utilizing are antiquated because new technologies can be leveraged for consumer benefit. The starting point for this new reality then becomes accepting consumers will purchase vehicles online (if given the right tools) and anything a dealer does that does not support consumers purchasing online is a step in the wrong direction. Period.

In conclusion, E-Commerce in automotive retailing has arrived and most dealers have not woken up to the "New Dawn".

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