Canadian auto dealer’s editors spend a lot of time exploring the forces at work both inside and outside automotive that threaten to disrupt the traditional dealership model.
So, when all fingers kept pointing back to the Audi City store in downtown London, England, as the shining example of the showroom of the future, publisher Niel Hiscox and I made the trek to figure out what all the hype was about.
Truth be told, when I first set foot inside Audi City, an elegant but modest brick building located about a stone’s throw from Picadilly Circus in downtown London, it was a fairly underwhelming experience.
There were a handful of vehicles in the showroom, some touchscreen devices located adjacent to the floor to ceiling video walls, but you wouldn’t immediately recognize this as an iconic destination held up as the future of auto retail.
In fact, what struck me most was the silence on the quiet afternoon when we dropped by for our pre-arranged tour and interview with Audi City representatives. This futuristic digital dealership is still a quiet and mostly sterile place, not unlike today’s dealerships that have been described as “digital deserts.”
Our digital future, it seems, isn’t about bombarding our senses with information and infotainment, where we take part in some high-tech sensory overloading video game.
Even though Audi City had Kinect-style cameras above — and motion sensors in the floor below to detect a customer’s movements as they swiped through menu options to configure their vehicles — it turns out most people don’t do it.
Understandably, they don’t want to stand in the middle of a dealership gesticulating and waving as others watch their every move on 8 foot by 15 foot video walls. Many consumers opt not to use those “public” digital tools at all.
While Audi City’s innovation might not appear obvious on the surface, when you drill down a few layers into the details it starts to make more sense.
The Audi City digital experience is about instant — and accurate — access to relevant data to help sophisticated shoppers continue the car shopping journey.
Buyers, at least Audi buyers in London, are there to exploit powerful software tools that are updated from Audi’s headquarters every morning with the latest offerings that let them custom build their own Audi and bring it to life from several hundred million possible configurations.
Perhaps most importantly, as they progress through these various options, either at home, or at the dealership, or even on their phones, they don’t lose their work. An innovative Audi Code is like a digital bookmark that lets them pick up wherever they left off.
This helps create that elusive seamless transition from online to dealership.
Customers are also there for expert advice. They are led on their digital journey by highly-trained and customer-focused assistants who guide them.
The bottom line in all of it, however, is that it seems to be working for Audi buyers. The sales figures at Audi City have risen by almost 70 per cent over the same Audi store that used to operate in that same location. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.
