CarMax Inc. has set its sights on an East Coast expansion as it rolls out an omni-channel buying experience that debuted in Atlanta last month, Mike Farris, chief operating officer of CarMax Auto Finance, told Auto Finance News.
Next in line will be the Midwest and then the West Coast, he added. CarMax’s omni-channel offering enables customers to buy CarMax cars where they want and how they want. “If they want to start online and then go to the store, they can do that,” Farris said. “If they want to do everything online, from purchase, finance, and car delivery, you don’t even have to come to the store.”
By February 2020, the customer-driven buying experience will be available to the majority of CarMax’s customers. It operates nearly 200 stores in 41 states. As part of the omni-channel initiative, CarMax will designate more call centers to support the business.
The first call center is housed in Raleigh, N.C. to service the Atlanta region customers; the other locations have yet to be determined. Early results from a consumer standpoint have been positive, Farris said. Separately, the company is launching a new express pickup option, which allows customers to conduct most of the car-buying process online and complete the purchase in a store in as little as 30 minutes.
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