The Ultimate Guide to Distance Selling
Click & Collect vs Home Delivery
The two methods of operating distance selling are click & collect, whereby a buyer purchases the vehicle and then travels to the retailer to pick up the vehicle, and home delivery where the vehicle is purchased and delivered to the buyer by the retailer.
In both instances the purchase is made away from the retail premises, and buyers will legally be entitled to a 14 day return period from when they take ownership of the vehicle. This is a legal obligation and must be explained to the buyer during the buying process.
Trading standards expert Peter Stonely explained that these rights cannot be removed by a disclaimer and failure to communicate the 14 day right to cancel period, to a buyer through contract or on your website, will mean that they automatically have 12 months to cancel. He suggests that retailers should highlight the 14 day right to cancel on your website as well as sent to the buyer via email and/or post.
Whilst Home Delivery will require the use of resources to get the vehicle to buyers, Click & Collect simply requires you to have the ability to sell a vehicle online or over the phone, so no matter what kind of retailer you are you can offer Click & Collect.
Buyers don’t know what they can’t see
It may seem like an obvious step but it’s arguably the most important – if you’re not shouting about the fact you offer Click & Collect and/or Home Delivery than buyers won’t know you offer these services. By using Deal Builder you can easily advertise this on your adverts and help a buyer reserve your vehicle for purchase.
By joining Deal Builder you can enable Click + Collect and Home Delivery options to your adverts as well as offering a complete omni-channel journey to consumers. But don’t stop there, be sure that you are highlighting your distance selling features on your website and in all your communications with buyers, whether it be by email, on the phone or through your social channels.
Descriptions and images are great – but video is best
Optimising your omni-channel forecourt is key to attracting buyers and getting the most from Deal Builder. Ensure that your images and description are as clear and as accurate as possible – shining the best light on your stock.
Remember if a buyer purchases a vehicle and there is even the slightest error in the description, they can exercise their consumer rights and return it to you for a full refund.
We spoke to Sean Cantillon, managing director, Cedar Specialist Cars and Autotrader Retailer of the Year 2020 who highlighted that he sends personalised videos to each prospective buyer in order to build trust and transparency with them. This is something that is lacking when it comes to remote selling and retailers should do all they can to build trust with prospective buyers, particularly through videos which allow buyers to get a full view of the vehicle and have an experience beyond just viewing images and a description online.
To view our distance selling best practises head over to our distance selling masterclass.
Overcoming the Fear of Returns
One of the risks of distance selling that concerned retailers the most was the likelihood of a customer rejecting the car. But both Nona and Sean revealed that, in their experience, this happens in very few cases. Having confidence in the vehicle you are selling, the transaction experience you are giving the customer, having a rudimentary understanding of distance selling and making consumers aware of their rights is key to successfully operating in the age of omni-channel retailing.
Getting started on Deal Builder
We have already begun to bring our retailers on this digital journey with us and are making Deal Builder available to more customers each week. For details on the future of Deal Builder and why now’s the time to get onboard check out our blog. Or let us know you’re interested here or speak to your Account Manager to get started on Deal Builder at no additional cost.