Well after 'days' of waiting we now have a new player in the market namely Tesco. Interestingly there hasn't been much comment about the Co-operative who have operated within the sector for a number of years and sell cars through traditional retail outlets. So what's in store (no pun intended) for the sector following Tesco's entrance within days of the demise of Autoquake? Well perhaps looking back through recent history we see can the future. Friends reunited and Myspace, albeit still around today, set the scene for social networking but were all surpassed by Facebook - an improved model, with more users and now significantly greater worth.

The refining of social media to meet the needs of the consumer has delivered phenomenal results and thus serves as a model for Tesco. Indeed the needs of the automotive consumer have yet, in our opinion, to be fully served. Autoquake proved consumers will buy used cars online without a 'real' brand. The transparency of information, created the trust required for the consumer to make a significant purchase online. This though, has been very much supported with much improved consumer regulation to provide comfort and recourse for the purchaser. Interestingly Manheim stated this week that two thirds of consumers would not consider buying a car online, in a half full world that means a third will. So in rough terms there are just over 30 million cars on the UK roads so 10 million of these could be replaced by an online purchase.

So what about dealers, well they do have some disadvantages, such as not having 16 million Clubcard holders, however they do have physical shop fronts, they can provide great service and match Tesco when they do the job correctly. With regards to online retailing then it's time to step up to the plate. If a third of customer's say they will buy online then at least give them a chance - have a 'buy' button on your website. Be more transparent with your vehicles and provide more information. You will have no doubt noticed that you get more visitors to your website than your showroom, so evolve and web enable your showroom. Show them more images - only a few dealerships have adopted this 'easy' to implement feature of Autoquake, however it was probably the most talked about. For those with a thirst 'to pioneer' why not consider a live video presentation of the vehicle with conversion rates running at 60% is it really too much bother?

From a Webzation stance we strongly believe in focusing on affordability and there is no better way than incorporating motor finance products integrated with your vehicle stock, videos to present these products and the ability to apply online - wouldn't you want to get your proverbial 'ducks in a row' or at least get a measure of what the product is going to cost per month?

So will Tesco dominate the market or be another JamJar, Virgincars or Autoquake? We don't know, however will they make an impact? - definitely yes and hopefully those more forward thinking dealerships will also evolve their businesses and embrace the ever changing consumer demands.