CDK Global

The camaraderie and partnership that comes with being at NADA were in full effect at this year’s show in Las Vegas.

The excitement about what’s to come was felt at the CDK booth, where hundreds of visitors stopped by to learn about new capabilities and solutions that provide more efficient and connected buying and selling experiences. Before the doors closed, Jason Swiech, CDK’s lead product marketer for F&I, shared his thoughts on the show and what made it so unique.

This is your 12th NADA Show with CDK. What felt different about this year?

After three years of dramatic post-pandemic market swings, buyers in 2024 are poised to take back the wheel with plenty of inventory choices, slightly lower prices and a jump in automaker incentives. This buyer’s market has many hailing the return of normalcy.

Still, analysts predict slow growth for the industry in general, with many forecasting around 16 million new vehicle sales. That’s over a million fewer sales prior to the pandemic.

The automotive industry has returned to somewhat of a pre-pandemic state at the end of 2023, but car buyers are still shopping with pandemic-style expectations. CDK surveyed nearly 1,200 car buyers and approximately 350 dealers to gauge the pain points and improvements at dealerships across the country over the last year.

Winning over a shopper is difficult for any type of retailer. Securing someone’s business looking to service their car however, might be the hardest of all.

There is little debate of the value the F&I function provides a car dealership. However, as the industry consider who is best to discuss and sell F&I products to buyers CDK Global wanted to get a better understanding of how consumers feel about the process today.

CDK Global surveyed over 1,200 car buyers for the F&I at the Dealership white paper to find out just what they think of one of the most important profit centers a dealership has.

The time it takes between when a customer walks through a dealership’s doors to driving off the lot is crucial to customer satisfaction. A CDK Global survey of shoppers indicated that the expectation is two hours or less in the dealership. Anything beyond that begins to degrade the experience.

Customers are increasingly vocal about subpar service and they’re taking it online. According to the latest National Customer Rage Survey from Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business, about 32% of dissatisfied customers shared their unhappiness on social media. That’s more than twice the number reported in 2020.

CDK Global endeavors to connect dealers with the automotive industry at large and our in-depth and revealing research covers everything from Modern Retail and F&I to service and shopper behavior. Below, find the top white papers and e-books CDK published in 2023 on automotive retail issues that are top of mind for car dealers everywhere.

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Our industry has come a long way toward offering different paths to purchase for vehicle buyers. Shoppers can buy online, visit the showroom, or take a hybrid approach where they complete some of the steps online and finish in the dealership.

The ideal path is simply the one that works best for each individual buyer and leaves them feeling confident in their purchase. And that should come as no surprise.

Most dealerships are hyperfocused on building a better buying experience for their customers. Contrary to popular belief, a better experience doesn’t mean shunning the showroom for an entirely online sales process. It means eliminating idle time and dealer rigmarole that stretches showroom visits into endless hours of haggling, paperwork and high-pressure pitches for insurance products.