07 March 2016

At a glance, the first two stories in this week’s issue of Auto Retail Agenda may not have very much in common. However, they are both linked by one thing that’s key to any kind of retailing. And that is trust.

In the case of PSA aiming to sell new cars online by the end of this year through Peugeot, Citroen and DS, success will be determined by the customers trusting that when they click to buy, everything will happen as they expect, and that should anything go wrong any problems will be dealt with professionally. 

In BMW’s case, where it would refuse access to a customer’s data [LINK HERE] gathered from its connected cars, this also is all about trust because it needs customers to trust that it will not share information such as speed and location with anyone. If it did share the information (such as telling a police force if an owner was speeding), it is highly unlikely that those people would buy another BMW.

In both these cases, the franchised retail networks are key. PSA and BMW need their networks to deliver their goals and consumers must trust them to deliver an efficient, value-added experience. It’s important to remember that trust should be a cornerstone of all aspects of auto retailing.

Tristan Young

Editorial Director

Auto Retail Network

Tags: Apple, BMW, Citroen, DS, online shopping, Peugeot, PSA, security, trust