Dealers embrace digital thinking to drive business

Dealers are becoming increasingly switched on to the benefits of digital tools in helping to drive their businesses forward

In the latest NextGear Capital sentiment survey, we asked ‘How important are integrated technology, apps, online funding platforms etc, in helping to drive better efficiency and profitability for your business’, four out of five surveyed said they considered it either ‘important’ or ‘very important’.

In contrast, only one in ten of those surveyed declared integrated technologies to be ‘fairly important but not essential’ to their business.

Encouragingly none of the dealers dismissed the use of integrated technologies such as apps, online funding platforms or dealer management systems - indicating an increasing acknowledgement within the trade of the importance of technology in running a successful car dealership. 

Dealers also spoke of the need to keep pace with an increasingly digitally savvy customer base, who are using an array of online platforms to guide their purchase choice.

Liam Quegan, NextGear Capital’s Managing Director, comments: "The insight gained from our latest sentiment survey shows a majority of dealers are in tune with an ever-evolving digital landscape and have a willingness to use the technology available to benefit their business.

"In a market place where the use of integrated technologies is becoming more widespread digital denial is not an option.  It’s encouraging to see dealers embracing digital rather than dismissing the importance of these online tools.

"At NextGear Capital, we are seeing increased engagement with our digital tools, as our StockMaster platform supports dealers to purchase and manage their stock in line with the needs of their business.

"Being digitally switched on has never been so important and more dealers seem to appreciate this and are adapting their businesses accordingly."