zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Buying
/
Online Shopping Is Killing Car Dealer Inventories
Online Shopping Is Killing Car Dealer Inventories-July 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:09:55

With the various car-buying services offered online, hardly anyone goes to a car dealership just to browse anymore—they do a lot of that on the internet beforehand. That, then, makes car dealerships question why they keep such large inventories on their lots anymore.

Dealerships and dealer groups are reacting to this shift in car shopping in different ways, reports the . Some are moving their inventory to less expensive off-site real estate. Others are selling off underperforming dealerships. From the story:

Nearly 90% of car shoppers use the internet to shop for a vehicle, according to a 2016 study by the third-party shopping site Autotrader.com conducted by the research firm IHS Automotive. Of the customers who use their smartphones at a dealership, the study found 59% are comparing prices for vehicles at other dealerships while 38% are comparing inventory at other dealerships.

Brad Carter, the principal of Greystone Valuation Services, specializing in auto dealerships, compared what’s happening to dealerships with what has been happening to bookstores. Small neighborhood bookstores have been gradually losing out to megastores like Barnes & Noble, which faces tough competition from Amazon.

Meanwhile, also make dealerships wonder why they are paying so much for land that doesn’t necessarily guarantee a return on their investments.

While this may be trouble to dealerships, it’s actually a good thing for the consumers. The internet has helped consumers walk into dealerships more well-informed and savvier than ever before, which leads to more options, and, hopefully, better deals.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Buying
2018 Toyota Camry: Here's Why It's Still The Sedan King
2018 Toyota Camry: Here's Why It's Still The Sedan King
This past weekend, my friend and I took a on a 1,700 mile road trip from Michigan to North Carolina to visit—and I know this may shock and surprise some of you—a Jeep junkyard. And while much of the trip was a complete disaster, and arguably pointless, I finally learned...
Jul 19, 2025
Buick Has No Idea How To Actually Sell The Regal TourX Wagon
Buick Has No Idea How To Actually Sell The Regal TourX Wagon
The that Buick. But semantics aside, the automaker and its sales staff are pretty much clueless as to how to actually get new customers into these things. , the TourX is supposed to be GM’s crack at stealing even a little bit of market share away from the Subaru Outback...
Jul 19, 2025
The 2019 Honda Insight Is The Most Normal Hybrid
The 2019 Honda Insight Is The Most Normal Hybrid
At first I had what this all-new was supposed to be. Was it an Accord? Why would Honda re-use the name of a car nobody really liked? And would it bring any joy to drivers? But I found out what it is. It’s a hybrid for the Normals among us....
Jul 19, 2025
At $4,500, Might This 16V 1983 VW Caddy Tee Up Some Good Times?
At $4,500, Might This 16V 1983 VW Caddy Tee Up Some Good Times?
The seller of today’s somewhat Frankencar VW Caddy says it was a dad and son project. Let’s see if the result, and its price, has you wanting to be its new sire. Depreciation is a hell of a drug. Buy a car on that downward slope and you’ll eventually end...
Jul 19, 2025
My Family Refuses To Ride In My Old Beater! What Car Should I Buy?
My Family Refuses To Ride In My Old Beater! What Car Should I Buy?
Robert has a 14-year-old Volkswagen Passat with a lot of miles and not a lot of life left in it. His family refuses to ride in his car that probably should have been sent to the junkyard years ago, so it’s time for a replacement that’s safe but not lame....
Jul 19, 2025
The 2018 Jaguar XF Sportbrake S Is Two Cylinders Short Of Legendary
The 2018 Jaguar XF Sportbrake S Is Two Cylinders Short Of Legendary
In my travels I have found few places more ideally fit to open up a car—really open it up, I mean—than Interstate 10 in Texas headed west toward California. The Hill Country gives way to true desert and 80 mph speed limits between Kerr County and El Paso County, and...
Jul 19, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved