The consumer price index for used cars and trucks skyrocketed 40.5% between January 2021 and January 2022, according to new U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
The problems began as a high demand for freezers when people were stockpiling food at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. It snowballed from there into a long-term shortage of semiconductors that has left Dakota TV & Appliance, as well as other local businesses, high and dry while trying to maintain profits and salvage relationships with increasingly impatient customers.
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Dealerships say live communication allows them to engage with customers as they shop rather than trying to follow up.
Customers browsing inventory aren t met with a traditional lead form on Rydell Auto Center of Grand Forks website.
Instead, beneath a payment calculator is a black button with the words: Ask an expert. Click on it, and a chat window pops up, prompting customers to choose the dealership department they re looking for and telling them that the usual response time is a few minutes.
A live employee responds on average in less than a minute, said Morgan Hibma, marketing director of the three-store group in North Dakota. A lead form is still there, tucked away on a contact page. But Hibma said it s being phased out, and shoppers won t find it when checking out the detail page for a new Chevrolet Blazer.