Technology is rapidly changing, and that’s not something new. But the application of that technology in real life, for businesses, corporates, consumers, etc., is wonderful. For automotive retailers, one of the biggest examples of evolving technology is the virtual car showroom, which is becoming increasingly common in this digital era.
With changing preferences, attitudes, and behavior of automobile buyers, the channels for selling automobiles also need to change. With people steadily preferring digital channels over physical ones, virtual showrooms are changing the face of automobile shopping.
Digital sales platforms are a growing market trend; majorly, all big companies are shifting towards digital platforms to stay updated and up-tracked in the market. Companies like Tesla, BMW, Ford, etc., are moving towards the virtual space for their sales channels. Even used car retailers like Carvana offer people the convenience of purchasing cars digitally.
An automotive virtual showroom provides a convenient and personalized experience to buyers. It can help them find, compare, and finalize their desired car, without the need to step out of their homes!
In this article, we will thoroughly discuss what a virtual automobile showroom is, how it is changing the automotive market, and why you need to embrace this technology. Let’s begin!
What Is a Virtual Car Showroom?
A virtual car showroom or a digital car showroom is a digital replica of a dealership for online shoppers. People can purchase vehicles on these digital platforms from the comfort of their homes. A virtual automotive showroom provides high-quality, engaging car images and videos – often including interactive 360-degree car views – for people to research and compare their options. This provides a deep, rich, and informative virtual experience that makes researching and comparing cars easy and fun for customers.
With virtual showrooms, dealerships can replicate the in-person car buying experience in a digital form. This solution helps car retailers create an easy and convenient car way for shoppers to check vehicles out and purchase them.
Traditionally, buying a car or any other automobile requires visiting the store, identifying the desired model, comparing it with other models, and evaluating its pros and cons, before making the purchase. Virtual car shopping eases the entire process by allowing shoppers to do all this at their own pace while seated comfortably on their couch.
VR car showrooms provide detailed and high-quality pictures and videos of vehicles for consumer research, along with all the necessary details. Images from both interiors and exteriors are showcased for customer benefit. The combination of these high-quality images, along with a realistic virtual experience of the showroom, makes automobile shopping through digital dealerships fun, easy, and trustworthy.
How Do Virtual Car Showrooms Simplify Online Car Hunting?
Buying a car through traditional means can be troublesome and challenging. Thankfully, technological leaps have given way to more simplified and convenient ways to purchase automobiles. Online car hunting allows buyers to view, compare, and review vehicles, along with their parts, features, etc., from the comfort of their house and at their own pace.
Some key aspects that simplify online car hunting are-
1. Customised Experience
Give your buyers a customized virtual car shopping experience according to their requirements. One can look for a desired model with desired features by applying filters on your online inventory, comparing different models and features, etc. You can also check their history on your website, get them to submit their contact details, and then send them personalized deals and offers.
2. Convenience
The ease and convenience that it provides while online car hunting is hard to miss. Now, even if buyers feel like looking for a car at 2 AM, they have the option to do that. Be it in formal wear or pajamas, online car hunting is fun. Virtual dealerships are 24×7 accessible in the truest sense.
3. No hassle
A trip to the showroom can simply be avoided now. Buyers can view, compare, and judge without stepping out of their houses. Once bought, the car will be simply delivered to your doorstep. No more running between different dealerships!
4. Zero interference
Buyers are often uncomfortable dealing with salespeople. If you need a car, you simply visit the virtual showroom. Smart website design and system recommendations will assist the buyers thoroughly in finding their dream car, without involving salespeople and their opinions.
5. High-tech experience
Virtual showrooms provide a unique, high-tech car buying experience to buyers. No more haggling – they can check out all the discounts and offers directly on your website. You can also add a chatbot system to improve engagement; your potential buyers will get quick responses to their queries and easily schedule test drives or request a call from your dealership’s sales representative.
6. Increased sales
The engaging and interactive online dealership experience, along with easy and convenient car buying, attracts plenty of shoppers and helps improve sales significantly. Over 90% of people begin their car buying journey online, shifting to an in-person experience in the later stages. Creating a digital platform will help you capture the attention of these buyers too!
It’s essential to shift gears and move along with trends to increase car sales and stay on top of the industry.
Use Spyne Virtual Studio to Create a Better Car-Buying Experience
Do you know what makes a virtual dealership experience great? The answer is simple – high-quality pictures and videos that attract the interest of the customers and convince them to make the purchase. The high-quality pictures make the selection part of automobiles highly smooth and convenient.
Traditional car photography is expensive and time-exhaustive – you need to build/rent a studio, hire a photography crew, and then wait until the shoot and post-production are done. It also increases your dependence on external factors; if the studio is busy or a crew member takes a day off, you’ll have to wait even longer. There’s a faster and better way to do this – use a virtual studio for your car photography requirements!
Virtual car studios can help you create a digital showroom experience quickly and affordably, no matter the size of your inventory. You can shoot and/or edit car visuals (images and videos) without any professional help, and without any compromises in quality.
Spyne is a one-stop solution to create breathtaking virtual car showrooms for a winning digital retailing experience. Our car merchandising solutions – virtual studio and 360 spin – assist car retailers in developing high-quality catalogs that provide a rich and detailed experience to buyers.
Since buyers rely on online platforms for their car purchases, either partially or completely, it is necessary to give them a comforting digital experience. Spyne ensures that the virtual experience of retailers is high-tech and of high quality to attract a large number of customers online, gain their trust, and ultimately boost sales numbers.
Cost of Creating Virtual Car Showroom With Spyne AI
Spyne’s AI-powered merchandising platform helps you create a virtual car showroom at an affordable price. Using our smartphone app (iOS and Android), you can shoot pictures and videos quickly, with the on-screen guides helping you out at every move.
Using Spyne, you can edit your car images and videos at speed and scale – no matter the volume of work, the AI systems will process all your visuals quickly while adhering to the top quality standards. No need to hire expensive photography crews or build a studio!
For car retailers (dealerships and independent sellers), Spyne has different subscription models; You can pick between our monthly and annual plans. The monthly plans start at USD 149 per month, while the annual subscription starts at USD 1440 per year (edit up to 50 cars monthly in both plans).
We also offer a direct credit purchase plan – purchase as many credits as you need. For franchise dealerships with a massive inventory, this turns out to be a better deal.
Head over to the Spyne pricing plans to check out our different subscription models. For a detailed explanation or further information, you can book a discovery call and talk to our experts.
The Future Of Virtual Reality Car Showrooms
Trends in the automotive market point towards virtual reality being the future of car showrooms. The shift in automobile sales from traditional methods to online methods is evident. The future belongs to the Gen Z generation and beyond, whose preferences lie in the digital space. A virtual automobile showroom allows buyers to explore any vehicle model, just like in an actual showroom.
Although physical dealerships won’t disappear, every automobile retailer will have a digital sales channel in the future. Some will offer a complete VR experience, complete with a virtual car simulator, while others will stick to showcasing cars through interactive VDPs (Vehicle Display Pages).
Every company, big or small, will have to adapt to the changing consumer trends to keep up with the market, embracing digital platforms to engage customers and provide them with a better experience.
Final thoughts
Technology is evolving, and your business needs to evolve alongside it. The better you understand your consumers, the better you can attract and engage them. For successful digital retailing, you need to create a top-quality virtual car showroom, with informative and interactive VDPs for each and every vehicle in your inventory.
All your Vehicle Display Pages need good-quality images and videos, along with all other information that buyers need when making a decision. Once you take care of that, you’ll have a high-conversion online sales channel in your arsenal!
