Summary:
Online car buying today is about flexibility, not choosing between digital or in‑store. Dealers that remove friction and keep control of the deal are better positioned to convert ready buyers.
In this article, you’ll learn:
- Why buyers expect flexible online and in‑store journeys and how disconnected steps slow deals and hurt conversion.
- Which online steps matter most for building confidence, speed, and momentum toward purchase.
- How to deliver full online checkout without giving up control, including pricing, approvals, and profit.
The advantage today isn’t having the biggest lot or the most foot traffic. It’s being available when your customers are ready to move forward. Late at night. Between meetings. From the couch.
More dealers are starting to notice a quiet shift in how deals actually get done. It’s not about pushing everything online or replacing the showroom. It’s about removing the friction that slows good buyers down.
Shoppers are doing more before they ever walk in. And the real competition is no longer limited to business hours.
Three Things Dealers Are Seeing Change First
New patterns are showing consistently across the car buying journey. Buyers expect—and want—to use more channels for their next purchase. And more than half prefer to take steps online. The insights in our guide, Bring the Deal Home: Deliver online checkout and remain in control of your process and profit margins, indicate patterns of the next big shift.
1. Buying Often Starts Online. And Doesn’t Follow a Linear Path.
According to the 2025 Cox Automotive Car Buyer Journey Study, as many as 40% of car buyers begin their journey on third‑party marketplaces. Many of them return more than once, often moving back and forth between third‑party and dealership sites as they narrow their options.
What this tells us is simple. Shoppers don’t think in channels. They think in progress.
They want to start online, continue where it makes sense, and avoid repeating steps. When they return, they expect their deal to come back with them.
Online Checkout supports this reality by letting buyers begin the process digitally and pick up in‑store or online right where they left off. Fewer handoffs mean less friction and a smoother experience for both the customer and your team.
2. Efficiency improves when fewer steps are repeated
Most deals don’t fall apart because of price or intent. They slow down because of unnecessary repetition: Re‑entering information, restarting paperwork and re‑explaining decisions that were already made, can kill your deal.
When you reduce handoffs and let shoppers complete more steps online, the entire process becomes more efficient. Customers spend less time retracing their steps. Sales teams spend more time moving deals forward instead of rebuilding them.
Online Checkout optimizes the time customers spend on the journey by keeping momentum intact. Whether the deal finishes online or in‑store, fewer resets create a better experience and a more productive workflow.
3. Technology now supports real‑world buying behavior
For years, digital retailing tools have tried to force a linear process onto a non‑linear journey. That’s changed.
Today’s Online Checkout solutions are designed to work with existing dealership operations, not against them. Deals can start online, pause, resume, or move into your store without breaking the flow or losing control.
Customers get transparency and flexibility. Dealers stay involved and in control. And the process reflects how deals actually happen in the real world.
This is not about eliminating the showroom. It’s about extending your ability to engage and close when the customer is ready.
The Advantage is Shifting. It’s Time to Get In.
The competitive advantage no longer belongs to the dealership with the most cars or the most convenient lot. It belongs to the one that’s always accessible, always connected, and able to move a deal forward whenever the buyer is ready.
Online Checkout isn’t about changing who you are as a dealership. It’s about removing barriers that slow good customers down and letting progress happen naturally.
Get a Closer Look
Our guide, Bring the Deal Home: Deliver online checkout and remain in control of your process and profit margins, dives deeper into how this shift is playing out across the car buying journey. If you’re thinking about how to stay competitive as a buying behavior continues to evolve, it’s a good place to start.
Sources
2025 Cox Automotive Car Buyer Journey Study
Cox Automotive marketplace and consumer research
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