DigitalhitstheroadThemoredigitalcarbuyersbecome,themoretheymisstheshowroom.OEMsneedtoraisetheirgame—bothonlineandoff.1Fortoday’sdrivers,purchasingacarshouldbemuchlikebuyinganyotherconsumerproduct:aswift,convenientandcost-effectiveexerciseinonlineself-service1.NewAccentureresearchrevealsthatonlyonethirdofcustomerswhoboughtanewcarinthepastfiveyearswoulddosoagainfromastandarddealershipinthefuture.Mostpreferdifferentoptions,regardlessofwhethertheyarepremiumorvolumecustomers2.Ourresearchalsorevealsaparadox:themoredigitalcarbuyersget,themoretheyseekarewardingphysicalexperience.Indeed,earlyadoptersofnewtechnologies—“digitalnatives”—visitcardealershipsmoreoftenthan“digitallaggards”.Havingmadetheirdecisionsonline,theyhaveveryspecificreasonsfortheirvisittoastore.Theywanttheexcitementoftheshowroom,andtobereallylistenedtoandunderstood.1WhatDigitalDriversWant,Accenture20162AccenturesurveyedarepresentativenumberofprivatecarbuyersintheUS,ChinaandGermanyinspring2016.AboutthesurveyAccenture’sresearchwascarriedoutinspring2016asanonlinesurveyinthreemajorautomotivemarkets:US,ChinaandGermany.Thesurveyparticipantsarearepresentativenumberofprivatecarbuyersineachmarketwhohadpurchasedanewcarinthepastfiveyears.2THEMOREDIGITALCARBUYERSGET,THEMORETHEYSEEKAREWARDINGPHYSICALEXPERIENCE.LiquidExpectationsAllofwhichsuggeststhatifOEMscouldcollaboratewithdealerstooffermoreengagingofflinecustomerexperiences,whileleveragingmoreactiveonlineoptions,andensurethat“customergeniuses”areon-handinbothchannels,theycouldcontrolthecustomerinterfacemoreeffectively—andfendoffthenewentrantswhoseplatformbusinessmodelshavealreadydisruptedthesecond-handcarmarket.Suchashift—fromproduct-tocustomer-centricity,andfrompassiveonlineinformationprovisiontoactiveonlineconsultation—wouldmirrorwhathasalreadyoccurredinotherretailspaceswhereprovidersstruggletoretaincontrolovertheincreasinglyliquidexpectationsoftheircustomers.3THEDIGITALPARADOXDespitetheironlineenthusiasm,carbuyersstillseekapersonaltouch.Sixtypercen...
