5 best practices for online powersports marketplace platforms

As online shopping and e-commerce become more common in the powersports industry, developing an effective online marketplace is critical to meeting consumers where they want to be. With the launch of Polaris Xchange on March 29 and the success of e-commerce platforms such as RumbleOn — which sold 41,649 new powersports units and 31,764 used-powersports units in 2022 — online shopping for powersports is growing. Developing an online platform with the right characteristics allows dealers and OEMs to deliver the best shopping experience for consumers while increasing leads, sales and profits. 1. Provide accurate information. Whether accurate prices or unit specifications, consumers want to know that the vehicle they are shopping for online is the same one they will purchase at the dealership. Polaris, for one, has certified technicians who verify the information of every vehicle listed on its platform, Vic Koelsch , senior vice president and chief digital and information officer at Polaris, told Auto Finance News . “Trust is a big deal. ... There are barriers to people entering powersports from the U.S. market, and that’s one of the barriers,” Koelsch said. “We’re trying to alleviate that as much as possible and give them confidence in what they’re buying.” A lack of consumer trust is not just a barrier to entry, it can also cause customers to leave a brand entirely, evidenced by 65% of consumers switching brands after their experience “didn’t match what they had been promised by the brand’s image,” according to research from data software and experience management company Qualtrics . For Gen Z and millennials, 70% switched brands because the customer experience didn’t meet their expectations, while 50% of older consumers would leave if expectations were not met. 2. Offer up-to-date vehicle history reports. Vehicle history reports are a mainstay of the automotive industry. Carfax and Kelley Blue Book have offered these for years. Up-to-date vehicle history reports are designed to ease customers’ minds regarding any accident history and maintenance history of a vehicle. As part of the launch of Polaris Xchange, Polaris implemented a vehicle history report system for powersports, similar to what Carfax provides for automotive customers, Koelsch said. “Every vehicle listed on Xchange has a vehicle history report, and as we funnel vehicles through from [Polaris] Adventures and [Polaris] Select into that vehicle history, we’re maintaining it when it’s ours,” he said. Still, “at the end ... it’s a pre-owned vehicle,” Koelsch said. “We’re trying to do everything to improve peace of mind, trust and confidence.” [caption id="attachment_57336157" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] © Can Stock Photo / ShutterM[/caption] 3. Provide access to financing. The pandemic contributed to a wave of new powersports customers , and many OEMs and dealers are looking for ways to keep the “COVID customer” in the market, especially as more consumers opt to finance their vehicles while adjusting to used-vehicle and pricing changes , Brent Gyuricza , owner of two Maverick Motorsports dealerships in Montana, said at AIMExpo last month. An estimated 45% of customers at Wake Forest, N.C.-based Capital Powersports are financing their purchases compared with 30% at the height of the pandemic, General Manager Kevin Dunn , told AFN. Powersports financiers have implemented the ability to pre-qualify and negotiate terms online to meet customers’ needs. Polaris offers “a soft [credit pull] pre-qual, and [customers] can interact with the dealer online and negotiate pricing and everything they want to do inside the marketplace itself,” Koelsch said. Polaris Xchange offers financing via powersports lender Octane , but the company intends to add more financing options to the platform in the future. Fellow e-commerce platform RumbleOn offers finance and insurance to customers on its platform, and both companies allow customers to obtain outside financing or pay cash, according to their respective websites. 4. Give access to trade-in values. During the pandemic, many customers who entered the powersports industry purchased the vehicles that were available rather than the ones they wanted due to supply chain issues. As inventory and the supply chain begin to normalize, some customers are looking to trade in their old vehicles, and they want to find out what their trade-in is worth online before they take it to the dealership. “There’s so much now that consumers are expecting to do online: See if they may qualify for financing at your dealership, telling you that they have a trade-in value or getting an estimate for what it’s worth,” Jason Nierman , co-founder and chief revenue officer at Rollick , said at AIMExpo. “Connectivity [is what] the majority of consumers want online.” 5. Offer ability to complete sale with nearby dealers. Customers who are shopping online still want the ability to complete the transaction at the dealership and interact with the salesperson, according to Nierman. “What will continue in this industry is [customers] want to get to the dealership to finish the transaction,” Nierman said. “They want to see the product, they want to have the salesperson explain to them the key features and they want to do the deal with the dealership, which makes it the marriage of technology and people.” Customers around the world still want human interaction in the buying process. In fact, 82% of U.S. consumers and 74% of non-U.S. consumers want more human interaction in the future, according to research from PricewaterhouseCoopers . Auto Finance Summit East, Auto Finance News’ new spring event, is set for May 10-12 at the JW Marriott Nashville featuring a fireside chat with Peter Muriungi, CEO of Chase Auto. Visit autofinance.live.

5 best practices for online powersports marketplace platforms

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