Tablet users aren’t hard to spot if you’ve flown commercially recently or visited a local coffee shop. But a new survey by Auto/Mate Dealership Systems says the penetration of dealerships leveraging these devices still isn’t too high. At least not yet. 

Auto/Mate determined that only 20 percent of dealerships use mobile tablets in their sales and service departments. The software company found even fewer dealerships have adopted mobile tablets in the F&I department with only 7 percent indicating they use mobile tablets in the F&I process.

Auto/Mate Dealership Systems president and chief executive officer Mike Esposito explained this informal survey was conducted from November of last year to April of this year as more than 100 store employees responded to questions about mobile usage in the dealership

“I think we're seeing the classic bell curve in terms of dealers adopting a new technology,” Esposito said. “I anticipate this percentage will rise dramatically in the next few years as mobile tablet usage in the dealership becomes more mainstream.”

 Esposito cited the following reasons as the primary obstacles to widespread adoption of mobile tablets in the dealership:

— Cost: Esposito contends the hardware and software costs associated with mobile tablets are not the primary cost objection. He says the larger issue for dealers is the cost of expanding their Wi-Fi infrastructure throughout the entire dealership, so mobile tablets can be used efficiently even in the furthest corners of a service bay.

— Change: Esposito acknowledged that mobile tablet usage requires a change in processes, from how customers are greeted in the service lane, to multi-point inspections, to how the salespeople interact with customers on the lot. “Many dealers are resistant to change, putting off what they know will be a painful transition to completely new processes,” he said.

— Return on investment is undefined: Esposito emphasized that historically dealers have not adopted new technologies until the ROI is made clear. “Before investing in mobile tablet usage, they want to know what the return will be,” he said.

Auto/Mate Dealership Systems gave a summary of the key takeaways from the mobile usage in the dealership survey, including:

1. Mobile tablets appear to be used most often in the sales process:

• 21 percent use them to search for dealership inventory

• 20 percent use them to scan VINs

• 15.5 percent use them to demonstrate features for customers

• 80 percent of dealerships don't use mobile tablets in the sales process, but 15 percent would like to try

2. The second place mobile tablets are most often used in the dealership is in the fixed ops department:

• 12 percent use them to take photos of vehicles to safeguard against false claims

• 8.5 percent use them to enter VIN and vehicle information

• 8.5 percent use them to perform multi-point vehicle inspections

• 78 percent don't use mobile tablets in the fixed ops process, but 20 percent would like to try

3. The third ranked usage of mobile tablets in the dealership is in the F&I department:

• 7 percent use them for signing and e-delivery of documents

• 6 percent use them to present pricing and payment options

• 5 percent use them for menu presentation

• 93 percent don't use mobile tablets in the F&I process but 15 percent would like to try

4. Mobile tablets are used the least by executives and managers to review financial information:

• 6 percent use them to track KPIs

• 5 percent use them to view daily DOCs

• 5 percent use them to drill down into dashboard and metrics

• Nearly 95 percent don't use mobile tablets to review financial information, but 11 percent would like to try

5. What do you believe are the greatest benefits to using mobile tablets in the dealership? Responses are ranked in order:

• Improves dealership efficiency/workflow/consistency in process (29 percent)

• Speeds up processes (25 percent)

• Makes dealership personnel jobs easier (19 percent)

• Increases customer satisfaction (14 percent)

• Reduces paperwork (7 percent)

• Increases revenue (6 percent)

6. What mobile tablet platform does your dealership use? Responses are ranked in order:

• Apple iOS (37 percent)

• Windows (9 percent)

• Android (7 percent)

• BlackBerry (1 percent)

• Don't Know (13 percent)

Esposito said the biggest surprise from the survey was the response to the fifth question where respondents ranked benefits of using mobile tablets.

“The biggest benefit of using mobile tablets is the increase in customer satisfaction, as it ultimately has the biggest impact on a dealer’s bottom line,” Esposito said.

Esposito also encourages dealers to be more thorough in their vetting process for mobile tablet platforms.

“Most dealerships use iPads because of the brand name and general popularity of that product,” he said. “But if your dealership is running its DMS and other software programs on a Windows platform, it might make more sense to use a Microsoft Surface Pro so all data exchanges are instant and seamless.”

 For dealerships that are considering adopting mobile tablets, Esposito recommended starting in the fixed ops department.

“Service is clearly the department that stands to benefit the most from mobile tablet adoption; from greeting customers in the service lane, opening RO's, conducting multi-point inspections, viewing recalls and recommended maintenances to pave the way to a better upsell process, the revenue potential in service is the greatest,” he said.

Based on the assumption costs are coming down and the awareness of the benefits of mobile tablet usage growing, Esposito predicted a huge spike in dealership adoption rates over the next few years.

“The sooner dealers create and embrace new processes for mobile tablets, the sooner they will benefit,” he said.