Consumers demand richer digital shopping experiences to make purchasing decisions online, and the car business is no exception. The brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text, with 90% of the data we receive being visual. This underscores the importance of images on Vehicle Description Pages (VDPs) for driving traffic.
When a dealership acquires a vehicle, whether through trade or auction, getting it online quickly is crucial. Vehicle photos significantly impact the number of views and clicks a vehicle receives.
Nobody Buys a Car Without a Picture
A study by Kelley Blue Book found that 90% of car shoppers prefer to view real photos versus stock photos or no photo at all. We tested this theory by analyzing data from several client accounts. The results showed that switching from a stock photo to a low-quality real photo increased engagement by 185%. Upgrading from a low- to high-quality photo led to a 178% traffic increase. Most impressively, changing from a stock photo to a high-quality lot photo resulted in a 675% increase in VDP traffic. So, how can dealers get quality photos uploaded to their VDPs faster to drive more engagement?
The Process: From Acquisition to Online Photos
Appraisals:
When a customer brings in a vehicle on trade or to the service lane, dealers should take two sets of photos of the vehicle in its current condition. The first set should highlight any issues with the vehicle to help devalue it. The second set should be taken for merchandising purposes, allowing you to choose which appraisal photos to use immediately until the car is frontline ready.
Auction:
For vehicles acquired through auctions, you can use a similar process while appraising a vehicle. Often, you can select photos directly from the auction site and upload them to your own. This ensures the vehicle can be listed online the same day it is acquired.
Simplify the Process
Using car dealership inventory management software can speed up and simplify the merchandising process of capturing and uploading photos to a dealership’s VDPs, as well as writing descriptions, managing listings, and syndication.
Dealerslink vs. Other Dealership Inventory Management Software
While most inventory management software can upload photos and manage listings, Dealerslink stands out with its unique photo features that simplify dealers’ workflows and deliver an immersive online car shopping experience.
- Trade Appraisal Photos: Allows you to choose which photos to use for online listings, ensuring the best presentation of your vehicles.
- 360-Degree Walk-Arounds: 54% of consumers prefer 360-degree spins as their media source. The Dealerslink Impel Integration enhances vehicle listings by providing high-quality 360° spins, leading to greater ROI from your merchandising efforts.
- Promotion Management: Merchandise more effectively with eye-catching VDP content and scalable promotions across your entire inventory.
- Image Overlays: Add branding or promotions to vehicles and set them to activate and deactivate automatically.
- Power Slide: Add your own images placed within the photo set for promotions or to differentiate your dealership.
- Inventory Groups: Streamline your workflow by applying promotions to specific inventory groups, saving valuable time.
- Certified Vehicles: Filter and interchange between new and used vehicles, showcasing them appropriately.
- Additional Banners: Add banners like “fresh trade” or “coming soon” to photos, which is unique to Dealerslink.
The Dealerslink Merchandising platform helps dealerships enhance their vehicle listings with high-quality photos, videos, and 360-degree spins. It automates the process of capturing, managing, and distributing visual content, ensuring consistent and compelling presentations across all inventory. This leads to increased customer engagement and faster sales. By integrating seamlessly with dealership operations, Dealerslink improves efficiency and maximizes the impact of online merchandising efforts.
Related: Compare Dealerslink to your current provider and get $100
Driving Success with Visual Merchandising
High-quality vehicle photos are more than just a nice-to-have; they are essential for driving engagement and sales. With the right tools, like the comprehensive inventory management and merchandising platform from Dealerslink, dealerships can streamline the process of capturing and uploading these photos, ensuring vehicles are market-ready in record time. By leveraging features such as 360-degree spins, promotion management, and customizable image overlays, Dealerslink helps dealerships present their inventory in the best possible light, ultimately enhancing the online shopping experience and accelerating sales. Embrace these tools to stay competitive and meet consumer demands for rich, visual content. Request a live demo of Dealerslink today.
