Why Dealerships Must Bridge the Online-to-Offline Car Buying Experience

The Myth of the Fully Digital Car Sale

Whether it’s booking your next vacation, paying your mortgage, or even completing a university degree, in 2025 we do pretty much everything online. Yet when it comes to buying a car, the survey says otherwise. 

According to Fullpath’s recent survey report, “The Role of Technology & AI in the Modern Car Buying Process 2025,” only 5% of recent car buyers completed their entire purchase online. While 35% of survey respondents did complete a significant portion (26-50%) of their purchase process online, the data shows that completing a car purchase in 2025 is still primarily done in person. 

The internet helps shoppers research vehicles, explore financing, and choose dealerships on their own time—but when it comes to test drives and final decisions, shoppers still prefer that in-person dealer-to-buyer experience. 

The Expectation Gap: Shoppers Want Retail-Grade Digital

While shoppers aren’t buying vehicles the same way as they purchase a coffee mug or a pair of socks, they do expect the online experience to feel just as seamless. In fact, 75% of survey respondents said they expect the car-buying journey to mirror the digital ease of shopping with brands like Apple or Amazon, even if they still plan to visit the dealership in person.

This shift in expectations means dealerships are no longer just competing with other dealers—they’re being compared to top-tier digital retailers. To keep up, dealerships need to elevate their online experience. That means adopting modern tools like AI-powered chatbots for 24/7 support and hyper-targeted ad platforms that offer a more personalized, effective digital shopper experience.

The Hand-Off Is Everything

The survey makes it clear: While nearly all car purchases end in-store, many consumers begin their journey online. These shouldn’t feel like two separate experiences, but rather one connected journey. Dealerships must ensure a seamless transition between digital and physical touchpoints, an expectation that is already held by 90% of respondents. With 93% of consumers wanting their journey to feel personalized and connected from start to finish, dealers risk losing business if they fail to adapt.

To deliver this level of experience, dealerships need to harness their first-party data using technology like a Customer Data Platform where every digital interaction—chatbot conversations, ads clicked, VDPs visited, equity status—are tracked, stored, and compiled into cohesive shopper profiles and offer valuable insight into shopper intent. AI can analyze this unified data set to help sales teams understand what matters most to each customer. Integrated AI can even generate personalized emails, texts, and talk tracks based on prior interactions, ensuring communication is relevant, timely, and tailored.

By putting AI to work, dealers can reduce common friction points that occur when moving between online and offline experiences, such as:

• Shoppers having to repeat themselves after already sharing information through chat or forms;
• Sales teams being unaware of prior online activity, leading to irrelevant conversations;
• Inconsistent messaging or offers between the website and the in-store experience.

AI helps close those gaps, creating a more consistent, satisfying journey, no matter where it starts or ends.

Real Personalization Means Real Data

Leveraging an AI-powered Customer Data Platform (CDP) supports personalization that transfers seamlessly between online and offline. Targeted emails or ads can be based off of individual shopper journeys within the CDP, taking into account all prior interactions with the dealership to tailor the next communication that goes out. Your sales team should be doing the same thing, always referring back to each shopper’s CDP profile to leverage the data-driven insights about each customer before continuing the conversation. 

Personalized customer experiences are essential for engaging all shoppers and building a loyal audience that keeps returning to your dealership. When your sales team has limited hours and cannot focus on each customer individually, AI-powered customer insights become invaluable in personalizing every interaction. 

Of the 1,000 respondents surveyed, 85% believe that personalized communication is crucial to a positive customer experience. They value receiving timely, relevant messages—such as tailored offers and follow-ups—that align with their needs throughout the car-buying journey. Whether these messages are sent before or after an in-person meeting is irrelevant; each email, call, or interaction should incorporate all prior activity, online or offline.

Utilizing an AI-powered Customer Data Platform (CDP) enables seamless personalization by consolidating customer data across channels. This allows targeted emails and ads to be based on individual shopper journeys, ensuring that each communication is tailored effectively. Your sales team should also leverage the profile of each shopper, leveraging this data before continuing engagement, so every interaction is informed and relevant. Ultimately, unified CDP data ensures that all staff members can pick up where the website or previous contact left off, delivering consistent, personalized experiences that foster customer loyalty.

The Business Case for Seamless Experiences

Price may seem like the most obvious factor influencing vehicle choice, but 56% of survey respondents indicated that they also highly value speed, convenience, and personalized service when selecting a dealership for their purchase. Interestingly, they even slightly prioritized convenience over inventory choice, with 53% citing having more inventory as an important factor. This suggests that superior customer service can help dealerships overcome supply chain challenges and still attract buyers.

Highlighting the importance of streamlining digital and in-person coordination, 56% of consumers prioritize a more convenient buying process over inventory availability or dealership location. By optimizing digital tools and ensuring seamless handoffs between online and offline interactions, dealerships can not only increase sales but also foster greater trust and loyalty among customers.

The Dealership of the Future is Seamlessly Connected

Today’s shoppers aren’t satisfied with an either/or approach; they want both. Digital tools should guide and enhance their experience, leading them toward the dealership with confidence, rather than leaving them stranded at the click. By bridging the gap between online and offline touchpoints, dealerships can deliver personalized, efficient journeys that meet elevated consumer expectations. When dealerships prioritize integrated, personalized experiences, they not only stay competitive but also foster trust and loyalty in an increasingly digital world.

Ready to unify your online and in-store experience? Book a demo with Fullpath and discover how our AI-first CDP helps dealerships create seamless, personalized buyer journeys that close the gap, and the sale.