Now’s the time to do a Tesla at the point of sale

Pre-orders for Tesla’s Model 3 – its lowest cost vehicle to date – began last month in stores around the world. So far almost 400,000 pre-orders had been placed.

While Tesla’s latest electric vehicle was unveiled to huge fanfare, the actual process of buying a car has changed little in the hundred or so years since the first Model T rolled off Ford’s production line in 1908.

For shoppers, the process has become much like a regular supermarket shop – habitual and, to a large extent, subconscious. Many of us choose to stick with the same brand and routinely upgrade to the latest model when launched.

Since Tesla launched its Model 2 car in 2012, and BMW followed with its first ‘fully’ electric car – the i3 – a year later, several big brands such as Nissan, Renault and Volkswagen have also followed suit.

Shoppers ‘understand’ petrol and diesel cars. But when it comes to electric models, we are in virgin territory. Shoppers lack product knowledge, need answers to unfamiliar questions, and have a new vocabulary of purchase concerns – being able to reassure shoppers over things like ‘range anxiety’ is a serious business.

Like the cars themselves, a growing number of point of sale displays have also turned electric, with the integration of digital retail display solutions now prevalent within many showrooms. More than ever, maintaining such displays effectively can not only be the difference between a sale made or an opportunity lost, but it can have a significant influence on both the product and the brand.

So, while the idea of what an electric car can be will continue to get refined, there is little doubt that the auto industry’s focus on approaches to retail display within the dealership environments going forward will also need to kick into a higher gear.

Chris Langford is managing director of CJ Retail Solutions