BMW is finalizing a showroom overhaul in the United States with a new design concept. To launch globally, Retail Next will be rolled out in about 25 locations in the first phase. One of these locations will be BMW’s flagship corporate store in Manhattan, New York.
Retail Next is not only a design overhaul of the dealer’s interior space, but also a new concept and concept surrounding the ordering process of a BMW. At the front, the display will have five or six cars, surrounded by high-quality furniture and lounge-like seating. Think of your future BMW dealership as a glamorous and luxurious boutique hotel with five or six cars on display, surrounded by high-end furniture and lounge-like seats.
In addition to adopting a new design, Retail Next upgraded dealerships will no longer have sales advisor cubicles. In fact, salespeople will talk to potential customers right next to the cars they are interested in buying. And that’s what we’ve touched on today with Peter Nota, a BMW board member in charge of sales and marketing.
According to Nota, retail has been operating since before the Next Covid-19 epidemic, but this has been accelerated by customer response to new rules when ordering BMW cars or SUVs. While European customers are accustomed to ordering the specification of their dreams and waiting weeks or even months for the car to arrive, US BMW customers were attracted by the instant gratification of picking up a dealer-specific car from the lot. This is why we often carry most white, black or gray BMWs.
Nota has noticed a change in customer behavior on this side of the pond in the last few years. Future BMW owners are now willing to order the car with the right features, options and colors, despite a long time in production. Of course, this will also help BMW’s supply chain because build-to-order processes are much easier to manage than build-to-stock.
Cars.com conducted a survey last year and 41 percent of people said they plan to build a car to order next time. So according to BMW, the way you buy your car may change in the future, so is the retail next venture.