Worldwide Automotive: The E-Commerce Experience

The creation and advancement of the internet has completely changed the buying process in most industries, even automotive. Since we’re in the middle of our Worldwide Automotive campaign, we thought we would take a look at these adaptations, comparing and contrasting the different e-commerce experiences of car buying and selling websites. The user experience of these sites is an integral part of their success, as the user has to be able to digest and understand their content and offering before using their service. So, we asked our team of UX experts to look at a selection of different automotive-based e-commerce websites and let us know what they thought!

Cinch

Launched in 2019, Cinch is an online e-commerce automotive platform that automotive brands can use to sell their vehicles. 

What our UX consultants liked:

• Delivery: Can be ordered online, saving a trip to a dealership.
• Easy to Browse: Either search a specific model or use their tool to find a car. Clear filters and consistent card design. Save vehicles you like with the heart feature.
• Peace of Mind: Cars are inspected/quality assured taking the stress out of getting ripped off. 7 to 14 day money back guarantee if you don’t like it.

Carwow

Launched in 2013, Carwow is another online marketplace for buying and selling new and used cars.

What our UX consultants liked:

• Good Deal: Offers are compiled from dealerships around the country to get you the best deal.
• Social Channel: One of the largest youtube channels reviewing latest developments on the automotive market.
• Clean Interface: Answer a few simple questions on what you’re looking for, whether general or specific then be presented with vehicles that match your criteria.

Cazoo

Launched online in late 2019, Cazoo is another British online car retailer that sells new and used cars. 

What our UX consultants liked:

• Delivery: Can be ordered online, saving a trip to a dealership.
• Easy to Browse: Either search a specific model or use their tool to find a car. Clear filters and consistent card design. Save vehicles you like with the heart feature.
• Peace of Mind: Cars are inspected/quality assured taking the stress out of getting ripped off. 7 money back guarantee if you don’t like it.
• Subscription: New ownership model with a single monthly payment that aims to ease the complexity/complication.

Motorway

The fourth and final e-commerce service is Motorway, an online used-car marketplace based in the UK and founded in 2017. Unlike the others, It uses a selling platform to allow users to sell their car to dealers, rather than buying. 

What our UX consultants liked:

• Good Deal: Offers are compiled from dealerships around the country to get you the best deal (Similar to Carwow).
• Collection: The car is collected from your driveway, so no need to leave the house.
• Ease of Payment: Once the vehicle is received the money is wired straight to your bank account.

As mentioned earlier in the article, it is integral that these sites generate good, fluid user experiences so that the user can fully understand and appreciate what they have to offer. Comparing and contrasting the different elements of the various e-commerce sites can show how each one can look at their competition, and perhaps implement the different methods used by each, all in order to make the user experience as smooth and simple as possible!