With the variety of ways to connect with customers, on a multitude of platforms, data is showing a strong pull to the growing appeal of an instant live-chat and it’s changing the future of digital retail. Consumers are excepting more from automotive websites. Recently there has been an acceleration with online usage and how the customer interacts with both brands and dealerships. Customizing your dealership website and its features are key to maintaining online traffic flow as well as providing an easy form of communication.
Denise Chudy, General Manager of Contact At Once! A LivePerson Company, shares the importance of instant chat and text within a dealership’s website. Implementing a system that connects your dealership with customers has become a vital factor in successful sales. Having a website providing only data logs of cars and information is not meeting the needs of shoppers in today’s market. 
There is a need for a platform that allows consumers the ability to connect with someone in real time who is able to immediately answer questions. Phone calls and emails are no longer effective methods as they take up more time when compared to the convenience of sending a text or instant-chat message. To allow a better and more efficient process Denise says that there must be conversational mechanisms in place to ask the appropriate questions that will move a shopper along in the right and positive direction. Bots allow you to have these conversations with consumers through technology. It’s a creative approach to getting a faster response containing information to an interested car shopper or owner. By solving for the dreaded wait time between a question and answers you can provide a more enjoyable and hassle-free experience.
As consumers move towards a heavy conversational commerce experience, be mindful of the potential impact it can have within the automotive retail industry and whether or not your dealership has built a website that encourages consumers to continue their car shopping process and conversations with you.
