Customers want F&I help while shopping for cars online

Forty percent of car buyers felt it was extremely important to have a person to talk to about finance and insurance products when shopping online, according to survey results released late last year by Reynolds and Reynolds Co.

The study, which received responses from 1,015 consumers in August and September, found about 72 percent of respondents characterized themselves as completely (12%), largely (20%) or somewhat (40%) unfamiliar with F&I products. Twenty-eight percent called themselves entirely (11%) or mostly (17%) familiar.

Reynolds and Reynolds hypothesized this unfamiliarity fostered buyers' desire for a conversation with the F&I office while online.

"Maintaining this connection is important to selling aftermarket products, no matter where the customer is," Reynolds and Reynolds wrote in a report on the results. "F&I managers simply need to be present for the buyer, regardless if they're online or in-store. Without the guidance from an F&I manager who can explain the value and educate customers on the products, consumers are not confident in what they're buying."

Greg Uland, Reynolds and Reynolds vice president of brand marketing, told Automotive News the results indicated consumers desired an in-person conversation with the F&I staffer, as opposed to other interactions they were more comfortable handling remotely.

However, the majority of customers were willing to pay more for the vehicle if they could complete certain F&I tasks online.

The study found 59 percent of customers saw themselves as extremely likely to spend more if they could review and select F&I products online, and 61 percent gave the same response regarding working with a dealership online to determine the exact vehicle payment or price. Nearly half — 49 percent — felt they were extremely likely to spend more just by being able to fill out an online credit application.

According to Reynolds and Reynolds, 12 percent of customers polled felt they had purchased a vehicle entirely online, though more than two-thirds of that group still had to visit a dealership for some reason. Reynolds and Reynolds concluded only 2.6 percent of all survey respondents had actually bought a vehicle completely online.

Conversely, some of the 88 percent of customers who felt they had made a physical dealership purchase described completing part of the process online.

"It's important to note that just because these are classified as in-store buyers ... doesn't mean they didn't have a blended experience," Reynolds and Reynolds wrote.

For example, the survey found 33 percent of those respondents estimated their payment online, and 13 percent established their exact payment or price with the dealership virtually. More than a quarter estimated their trade-in amount online. Fourteen percent filled out a credit application, and 8 percent reviewed F&I products online.

Uland said consumer comments during the survey indicated buyers wish to move seamlessly between online shopping and the physical showroom. "That's a struggle for a lot of dealers," he said.

Online buyers were willing to accept a longer process than in-store buyers, a result Reynolds and Reynolds called surprising.

"In-store buyers are less forgiving compared to online buyers," the company wrote. "They expect a faster experience, and their comments on the overall wait time were apparent; it's simply unenjoyable."

Forty-three percent of the online-only buyers expected to spend an hour or more examining and picking F&I products, and nearly half of them anticipated spending more than an hour signing documents and completing F&I. In contrast, at least 80 percent of in-store buyers planned to spend less than an hour at each F&I stage, and 40 percent or more thought they'd wrap up each portion of the process in less than 20 minutes per step.

More than 40 percent of all customers felt a poor sales and F&I experience would be extremely likely to affect their decision to buy more F&I products or return to the dealership for service or to purchase another vehicle.