Retail business models are changing rapidly in line with mobility trends and customer behaviors. The growth in EV sales is pushing a generation of consumers towards online buying and omni-channel experiences. OEMs must overcome many challenges to transform their retail operations in time to meet their demands. New customer journeys should retain the familiarity and enhance the customer service of traditional experiences, even though the agency model has tipped the balance of responsibility dramatically in the manufacturer’s direction.
Taking on these extra tasks is far from simple. Today, customers expect information at their fingertips and effortless shopping around the clock, instant or swift delivery, and tailored products and services. The new retail model is designed to focus on convenience, multifunctionality, connected technologies, and an omnichannel shopping experience. Yet OEMs adopting new retail models are having to manage the logistical challenges of this transformation while ensuring customers remain as unaffected as possible.
Meanwhile, more online processes will offer greater convenience and a simpler journey for the consumer. But for OEMs, there’s a lot to consider. It is estimated that a single customer journey contains as many as 5,000 interactions between different stakeholders such as sales teams, finance departments, test drive teams, administrators, and valets. Until recently, these tasks were managed by retail networks, but today’s retail models mean many more interactions occur between customers, their mobile devices and the OEMs themselves.