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Interest in online car sales sees remarkable spike

Electronics, clothes, toys and even food―nearly all these items can be purchased online. Modern buyers can now purchase almost anything from platforms like Amazon. Somehow, the automobile has evaded the online rush. That might be changing soon. Car buyers are increasingly showing an interest in purchasing vehicles online in click-to-buy style, The Wall Street Journal recently reported.

Potential buyers are increasingly displaying a mistrust of traditional car dealerships. Prospective buyers are tired of visiting vehicle dealerships only to find that they can’t test drive the vehicle they want, for example. They often dislike dealerships, particularly due to aggressive sales tactics. Potential customers are also put off by price-haggling that occasionally occurs in dealerships.

Rather than put up with the frustrations of dealerships, car buyers are rapidly turning to online platforms for purchasing automotive as well. The benefits of traditional dealerships and online e-retail sites for cars are thinning. Potential customers can browse and compare prices from the comfort of their homes. There are no pushy salesmen to deal with, either. More importantly, buyers can have a car delivered to their home.

Car dealerships are well aware of the trend and hope to avoid the same fate as their brick-and-mortar retail counterparts. The rush to buy products online with a single click has wreaked havoc on even the most established retail brand across North America. Cautious car dealers are now moving their services online, at least in part.

With interest in online auto sales rising, all eyes are on Amazon, the world’s biggest e-retailer. The mega-company offers customers the options to research vehicles they want to buy. However, the company doesn’t deliver cars to doorsteps just yet. In the U.S., there are legal barriers when it comes to online car sales. State laws, in particular, state that vehicles must be sold through auto dealerships. Such legal barriers prevent even ambitious companies from delivering cars online.

Some companies have found ways to circumnavigate such laws. In Canada, the most popular website for buying vehicles is Kijiji Cars.. The auto e-store of the up-and-coming startup isn’t affiliated with a dealership. It allows digital classifieds for cars from individual sellers. The company allows sellers to find buyers for peer-to-peer transactions with ads like Kijiji hatchbacks for sale.

The current demand is for direct online car sales, where customers can have a vehicle delivered to an address much like buying a pair of shoes online. E-retailers that facilitate used car sales don’t do the same with new vehicles. Shifting the market towards non-pre-owned sales would require a major shift in auto sales dynamics, analysts say.

Some problems are logistical as well. Delivering a massive item like a car isn’t cost-effective. Some existing auto e-retailers get around this problem by charging by the mileage for deliveries. Customers don’t get a chance to test drive vehicles, either. Buyers would have to be willing to forgo this possibility for new car purchases.

The market outlook is looking increasingly positive for online sales for new cars. It’s not entirely impossible that we would soon see 1-click car deliveries across North America.

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