Digitising part exchange

Posted on: 23 Apr 2024 | Post By: CitNOW Group

Digitising part exchange

Finding quality used stock is an ongoing and time-consuming challenge for every retailer. In recent years, the situation has been complicated by the emergence of online used car buying services disrupting the traditional part-exchange process.

On the face of it, online used car buying services would appear to add an additional link in the part-exchange ‘value chain’ in terms of time and cost. So why do so many customers like them, and how can retailers adapt?

Working with international research and consulting organisation ICDP, 2,430 consumers shared their views on the trade-in process; here is what they said;

A little over half felt it was easier to get a fair price for their trade-in now than it was five years ago
Slightly less would prefer to handle the trade-in separately from the purchase of another car
45 per cent felt that they were likely to use an online trade-in service in the future
43 per cent believed that online trade-in services offer better prices than a car retailer
However almost 50 per cent of customers said they would be worried about using an online trade-in service and the same amount believed that using an online trade-in service makes it difficult to coordinate the trade-in and purchase dates.

In short, the perception of gaining a fairer price is the primary driver for using online used car buying services. However, there are some trust issues with such services. The reason for part-exchanging an existing car with the retailer centers largely on convenience.

What a customer wants from their trade-in experience can be summed up as Hassle-Free/Control/Great Price/Trust and the option of keeping the trade-in separate from their car purchase should they so wish.

CitNOW Appraise, formerly Vehicle Vision Assist for Sales, has been designed to embrace these requirements. Helping to retain people who would already prefer to part-exchange their car with a retailer and meeting the needs of people who like the online used car buying model, by very arguably doing it better.

A digital valuation process that thinks like a customer

CitNOW Appraise is a digital vehicle appraisal tool that customers can use remotely and straight from a retailer’s own website, to appraise their own vehicles. It allows customers to provide essential vehicle information, photographs, and videos to create a complete information/image portfolio that helps retailers offer an accurate and authentic valuation.

The tool, with its easy-to-use process, guidance tools, and tips, puts the customer in complete control, delivering a compelling and trust-building experience. Customers are free from any concerns that a person is assessing their car and trying to buy it for the lowest price, a psychological pressure that online car buyers are often keen to promote.

Once the customer has appraised their car, they simply upload the images and supporting description, and the retailer can quickly and entirely remotely make an informed and accurate valuation. Easy and hassle-free for customers – great for retailers looking to boost their used car stock.

Best practice tips

CitNOW Appraise can be fully branded, emailed to customers, added to a website, and integrated within CRM activity; it can even be used in the showroom and integrates seamlessly with CitNOW Sales.

To optimise its impact, we recommend providing guidance on the quick and easy nature of the process, and, importantly, explaining why their engagement helps retailers provide the best price.

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