If you own a vehicle dealership, you need to take advantage of the power of digital shopping to boost leads and drive sales. If you don’t list your cars online, you may as well not advertise at all. More and more buyers are starting their car-buying journeys online.

As a dealership, embracing digital shopping is a critical part of not only growing your sales, but also increasing your leads pipeline. According to Think Google, 92% of buyers search online for the car they want, while 64% use interactive technology, like 360-degree online videos, before they decide to buy.

Avo Auto makes it easy to take your dealership digital

Luckily, you don’t need to create your digital showroom all on your own. You can use Nedbank’s Avo Auto platform to grow your online footprint and increase your sales leads significantly. Having your own digital showroom on Avo Auto with access to all the built-in capabilities of the platform can help your dealership grow faster.

There are at least 4 ways Avo Auto can benefit your sales:

1. Reducing the cost of marketing your stock

In partnership with MFC, a division of Nedbank, Avo Auto takes on the costs of marketing your dealership and the vehicles you have on sale. Any reputable dealership that is an MFC partner and a member of the Retail Motor Industry and the National Automobile Dealers Association can join Avo Auto and list their inventory.

Listing your stock on Avo Auto is free, unlike other car sale websites. Imagine the savings on marketing costs, especially if you’re paying hundreds of rands per week to advertise the cars in your showroom.

2. Boosting your dealership’s visibility

Launched in 2020, Nedbank’s Avo app currently serves more than 1.5 million digital shoppers, and the Avo Auto platform (launched less than a year ago) already attracts a million views per month. And with the upcoming version of Avo for smartphones and tablets, users will be able to launch Avo Auto directly from the homepage.

Through Avo Auto, buyers can contact dealerships and salespeople directly using the video chat functionality. This feature enables a range of exciting possibilities for you as a dealer, including performing trade-ins and showcasing the vehicles in your virtual showroom. Another feature, 360‑degree spin, enables you to load a comprehensive view of your cars, and there’s no limit on picture uploads. You can show potential buyers every enticing detail of your stock.

Research by Meta (formerly Facebook) in 2018 showed that 61% of female buyers named price as their most important consideration, while 61% of male buyers were prepared to pay more to get the vehicle they want. With Avo Auto’s price filters and the ability to highlight a car’s special features, you can market your inventory to both these demographic groups.

3. Improving inventory management

Avo Auto is a fully-fledged digital marketplace that offers rich insights and information on how your stock is performing. Through data-rich dashboards, you’ll be able to see which models are most popular and the prices that potential buyers are searching for, for example. You can use this information in many ways, like planning promotions to boost sales of slow-moving stock.

You can list cars with specific filter tags, so potential customers can use the search filters to find exactly what they’re looking for. You can include information about the price, mileage, colour and service history, and add specifications, optional extras, warranties and service or maintenance plans. The dealer insights dashboard can also help you manage your stock.

4. Leveraging the brand reputation of Nedbank, Avo and MFC

In less than 24 months, the Avo app has become a sought-after e-commerce platform for buyers and sellers. And Avo Auto is its latest innovation – a unique virtual car sales forum where buyers can ask questions using the chat function, send documents and even make video calls. It’s backed up by Nedbank’s solid reputation and MFC’s commitment to responsible lending. So, the fact that your dealership has met the requirements to be included on Avo Auto assures potential buyers of your reputability.

Buyers can apply and be approved for vehicle financing using the MFC interface within the Avo Auto platform, completing an end-to-end, seamless, digital-buying journey. Buyers can approach a purchase with confidence, knowing that the dealer is MFC-approved, and that financing won’t be an issue, while approved dealers can conclude a sale knowing that buyers are pre-approved for an MFC car loan.

Did you know that if you take out MFC vehicle finance and open a Nedbank Savvy Plus or Savvy Bundle Account, you can get R200 a month cash back for the duration of your loan? For an affordable car loan tailored to your circumstances and value-added extras like cash back, choose the bank that’s best for your money.