Hyundai will introduce new Tesco Express-style local dealerships on busy shopping streets and thoroughfares to improve brand awareness and “interrupt” potential customers who are reluctant to check out a conventional showroom.
The Korean manufacturer has seen substantial success with its first two Rockar stores, which offer interested buyers a haggle-free sales experience without the pressure of an established dealership. By placing the shops in key areas, Hyundai effectively interrupts you while you shop, according to UK managing director Tony Whitehorn.
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However shops in these high-footfall out-of-town malls are expensive to maintain, so Hyundai is looking at similar, more cost-effective solutions to sell its cars.
Whitehorn told us: “If you look at what’s going on in the supermarket world, it’s odd. You’d think that today everyone would be buying all their commodities online and have them delivered. Yet Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons are all building new stores.
“However, what is changing in the supermarket environment is that they are not building big stores. They’re all doing smaller, local stores. people want to have that physical presence. There still needs to be a relationship with a tangible offering.”
Car sales aren’t going fully online just yet
The Rockar stores have shown that while people are prepared to buy online, none are ready to totally detach themselves from the more predictable process of visiting a dealer to research and buy their new car. While this may change in the future, the current mind-set is to have your purchasing decisions validated by an actual human being.