Why Fragmented Customer Journeys Are Hurting Car Sales

In today’s digital world, customers expect a seamless experience, whether they’re researching online, visiting a dealership, or closing a deal. Unfortunately, the automotive industry often struggles to provide this unified journey, leading to what we call a fragmented customer experience. This disconnect can lead to lost sales, frustrated customers, and weakened brand loyalty.

The Impact of a Fragmented Journey

The modern car buyer moves between online and offline touchpoints throughout their purchase process, averaging over 20 interactions across multiple platforms before making a decision. However, when these touchpoints don’t align, it creates friction points that slow down the sales process and frustrate the customer. According to Bain & Company, over 50% of customers expect a consistent experience across all channels—whether they’re online or in-store. Yet, many dealerships fail to deliver this, leading to buyer frustration and potential defection to other brands.

"Car sales are a true omnichannel play. Customers average more than 20 online and offline touchpoints while researching cars, and over 50% of them expect a consistent price and experience across all channels."​ - Bain

One major issue with fragmentation is inconsistency in pricing and information. Customers often see different trade-in values, payment calculations, or financing options depending on the tool or channel they use. This inconsistency can erode trust and derail the sale.

Moreover, McKinsey highlights that nearly half of customers would switch brands if they received a better, more seamless customer experience. Whoa. This statistic emphasizes the importance of reducing friction points and delivering a unified customer journey to stay competitive in today’s market.

Why It Matters for Car Dealers

Fragmented customer journeys have a direct impact on dealer profitability. Every misstep along the path to purchase creates a potential exit point for the customer. If trade-in offers don’t match, or if credit scores don’t carry over between channels, the customer loses trust in the process—and in the dealership.

For example, if a customer completes a soft credit pull online, but that information isn’t used to adjust their payment expectations in-store, they’re likely to feel misled. According to MSXI, consumers now expect to configure cars, explore financing, and book services online. If they hit barriers when transitioning from digital tools to the dealership, it creates friction that can jeopardize the sale.

How WebBuy Solves This Problem

WebBuy addresses these challenges head-on by offering a seamless omnichannel experience for both dealers and customers. With WebBuy’s platform, customers can move effortlessly from your website to your showroom without any loss of information or inconsistencies in their experience.

• Unified Experience: WebBuy ensures that trade-in offers, credit pulls, and payment calculations are consistent across all platforms. Whether a customer starts their journey online or in-store, they’ll encounter the same offers, making the process transparent and trustworthy.

• Dealer-Centric Control: With tools like BidBoard® and NetDesker, WebBuy gives dealers control over which lenders and financing options appear to customers in real time, ensuring that dealers maintain control over their profit centers. This eliminates the guesswork for the customer and keeps the dealer at the center of the transaction.

• Seamless Transition: WebBuy’s technology allows all customer data to follow them from the website to the dealership, ensuring there are no surprises or miscommunications. This makes for a smooth, stress-free process for both the buyer and the dealership.

Conclusion

A fragmented customer journey can be a costly problem for dealerships, leading to lost sales and frustrated buyers. In contrast, offering a seamless, unified experience—both online and in-store—can dramatically improve customer satisfaction, trust, and, ultimately, sales. WebBuy provides the tools to make this a reality, giving dealers the ability to create an omnichannel experience that works for both their customers and their bottom line.

It’s time to fix the fragmented journey and give your customers the seamless experience they expect—and deserve.