A Seamless Shopping Experience Comes to Car Buying

Amazon just dropped a bombshell with its recent launch of Amazon Autos. While everyone has been focusing on the new car buying platform’s obvious consumer benefits, there’s an underlying goldmine here that most people are not talking about near as much as they should be.

A Seamless Shopping Experience

Let’s first start with what’s right in front of our noses – namely, that Amazon Autos is essentially bringing Amazon’s trademark seamless shopping experience to car buying. The platform currently lets consumers search for new Hyundai vehicles based on model, trim, color, and features. All of which sounds like pretty standard stuff and what one has come to expect from an Amazon e-commerce experience.

Goodbye Dealership Paperwork, Hello Digital Efficiency

Here’s where it gets interesting though: it also appears that Amazon will handle all the financing and paperwork right there on its website — meaning, no more sitting in some dealership office waiting for documents to print on what doesn’t just feel like a dot matrix printer from 1985 but, more often than not, actually is one.

Amazon Autos is kicking off with Hyundai in 48 major U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, LA, and New York. Once you’ve found your ride and sorted out the payment details, you just schedule a pickup time at the dealership of your choice. In theory, it is meant to be simple, clean, and efficient – something no one has ever said in the history of car buying.

The Hidden Advertising Goldmine

However, while all this just sounds fine and dandy for the average car consumer, there is also a much more important angle to this story from Amazon’s perspective.

And it all comes down to one word: advertising.

The not so obvious game-changer here is what this play can do for Amazon’s advertising potential.

Think about it – car companies are some of the biggest spenders in advertising. In fact, it was Don Draper who once said, “Every agency on Madison Avenue is defined by the moment they got their car. When we land Jaguar, the world will know we have arrived.”

And, yet, until now, the auto makers haven’t been playing in Amazon’s sandbox the same way traditional CPG manufacturers have been. For years, CPGs have been paying Amazon to feature ads on their products or to rank higher in searches, but that idea for new cars has heretofore never existed on Amazon’s website.

From Mass Marketing To Personalized Car Shopping

Moreover, traditional automotive advertising has been stuck in the stone age. Every NFL game, every NBA game, every PGA golf tournament, etc. features a myriad of car television commercials. It is a one-to-many approach. Car ads, in other words, have historically been about as personalized as a Sears catalog. Consumers simply just don’t get served personalized car ads the way they do with other products, especially for new vehicles.

So, instead, imagine combining Amazon’s sophisticated advertising ecosystem and treasure drove of first-party data with automotive sales – i.e. seeing targeted, personalized car recommendations based on actual shopping behavior. When you’re actively looking for an SUV with five seats for your family, relevant automakers can serve up exactly what you’re looking for in real-time, and with or without immediate ad incentives, too.

Amazon’s $20.8 Billion Endgame

Amazon Autos, therefore, isn’t just changing how we buy cars; it’s rewriting the rules of automotive sales and marketing.

Amazon is as much a media company as it is a retailer. And Hyundai is just the beginning. As Ford, Toyota, and others potentially roll onto the platform, Amazon may end up having more than one Don Draper Jaguar. It may end up owning the whole lot, figuratively and literally.

And with it all will come a new platform through which Amazon can command its fair share of the U.S. automobile industry’s $20.8 billion yearly advertising spend.

If that’s not a game changer, I don’t know what is.

Conclusion

Amazon Autos is not just a new way to buy cars, it’s a fundamental shift in how advertising will merge with car buying to give consumers more power and control over their car buying experiences. Consumers will win when they see more ads tailored to them as individuals, and, of course, Amazon and the car companies will win when this happens, too.

FAQs

Q: What is Amazon Autos?

A: Amazon Autos is a new car buying platform that allows consumers to search for and purchase new Hyundai vehicles online, with the option to schedule a pickup time at a dealership of their choice.

Q: What are the benefits of Amazon Autos?

A: The benefits of Amazon Autos include a seamless shopping experience, digital efficiency, and personalized car recommendations based on actual shopping behavior.

Q: How does Amazon make money from Amazon Autos?

A: Amazon makes money from Amazon Autos through advertising and commission on car sales.

Q: Will other car companies join Amazon Autos?

A: Yes, other car companies such as Ford and Toyota are expected to join Amazon Autos in the future.