Providers & Administrators, 1st Qtr 2019

14 P A 1ST QTR 2019 Providers and administrators who are stubbornly resistant to new technology and processes will fall behind those who acknowledge their appeal to an increasingly mobile end user The inception of digital retailing has changed the face of consumer purchasing Amazons hyper growth has put many brickand mortar retailers out of business and now automotive newcomers are pursuing the entire new car purchase online Tech like Apple CarPlay and lane keeping assistance not only influence how I think about my next vehicle purchase but are also gaining driver trust like a gateway drug drawing us into acceptance of autonomous car tech validating the 1 billion bet Uber waged As if thats not enough future generations are more interested in the convenience of a particular vehicle than they are in ownership propelling the subscription services trend and taking a segment away from new auto sales Is your playbook ready for this critical playoff round The Digital Retail Game Walmart has managed to thrive even while retailers like PACSUN RadioShack JCPenney and Toys R Us have tanked in the wake of the online retail surge In fact in Q4 of 2018 the giant retailer reported that in U S stores open for at least a year sales rose 45 This is the highest growth Walmart has seen in a decade Despite the threat of people staying home and ordering their stuff online probably from Amazon Walmart says it recorded more shoppers going to its stores and spending more per trip than in previous quarters So how did they do it They listened to consumers and made the necessary changes to deliver what they asked for instead of arguing the current retail model was sufficient The company not only invested to expand its grocery delivery service to cover 40 of the U S population but updated their ecommerce sales approach based on customer feedback The result was an over 40 increase in sales in the first three months it came online Bottom line They listened and adapted So how do we copy this resilient example in automotive Use that same playbook and listen According to Capgeminis annual Cars Online study 35 of consumers in 2015 followed by 42 NO HUMAN NECESSARY Emerging Tech and Impactful Trends @ Adobe Stock Jakub Jirsák By Cindy Allen