Taking a page from the Home Shopping Network’s playbook, CarMax Inc. is piloting loan-decisioning functionality, and a host of other car shopping tools, that customers can use to complete most of the car-buying transaction from home.
The program, called “EasyShop,” is currently available on CarMax’s web site for customers in two North Carolina cities: Fayetteville and Raleigh.
Car shoppers can use EasyShop, which launched last month, to apply for financing and receive a decision online from CarMax Auto Finance and its financing partners. Consumers may also put vehicles on hold or pay for transfers, schedule test drives or trade-in appraisals, choose extended service plans, and start paperwork before going to the store.
With EasyShop, consumers can shave an “enormous” amount of time off the car-buying process, said CarMax President and Chief Executive Thomas Folliard during an earnings call.
“They could apply for financing, get approved, fill out pretty much all of their paperwork and then set an appointment to see a sales consultant at the store,” he said. “And if there’s not a trade involved, when they show up at the store, they’re pretty much done if the car is there and ready.”
Separately, in December CarMax launched a mobile version of its web site, which accounts for 10% of web site visits and “an even higher percentage of our leads,” Folliard said.
CarMax is also exploring options for possible apps, according to its web site.
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