Corona crisis: Mercedes-Benz accelerates digital and contactless sales

The automobile manufacturer Daimler, with its passenger car brand Mercedes-Benz, has also taken the Corona crisis as an opportunity to further digitalize sales. In addition to ordering vehicles in the so-called Online Store, the delivery of new Mercedes-Benz cars is now contactless and, as promised by the manufacturer, directly to the desired address while adhering to hygiene measures. This service is complemented by attractive conditions for online orders. The company had already launched Germany’s first nationwide online store for new vehicles in 2016 and expanded the offering to include the online purchase of used vehicles in 2017. The revamped Online Store, since December 2019, has already recorded around 400,000 visitors and offers around 1,000 constantly available vehicles.

Forecast: A Quarter of Purchases through Online Sales by 2025

Beyond the free delivery of new vehicles to the desired address, the manufacturer is increasingly focusing on pick-up and drop-off services for workshop services in its sales. The Mercedes-Benz Online Store is a crucial part of the sales initiative "Best Customer Experience 4.0," which aims to align the brand’s sales specifically with what the responsible parties believe are "changing customer preferences in the digital age." They want to offer customers a seamless and convenient "luxury experience" whenever they want to interact with Mercedes-Benz—regardless of time, place, or the channel they use. The company anticipates that by 2025, a quarter of global passenger car sales with its sales partners will be conducted through online channels.