Manchester-based DEPT has completed the first ecommerce site for luxury car specialist, Harwoods as it seeks to compete with online-only dealerships.
The agency was appointed in 2020 to help Harwood’s accelerate its digital transformation and move towards a hybrid business model.
Harwoods in the retail partner of of manufacturers including Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar, Land Rover, and McLaren.
“We’re proud to have brought the prestige of the Harwoods brand customers have appreciated since 1931 into the future, empowering all types of customers to buy a car the way they want to”, explained Archie Harwood, CEO of Harwoods.
“It was a pleasure working with DEPT on this project. Its team understood how technology is impacting automotive retail, guided us in digital transformation, and created a solution that enables us to compete in the fast lane with entirely online dealerships.”
DEPT worked on a solution to streamline the end-to-end purchasing experience, which it claims can be done in as little as five minutes flat – setting a new standard for online car buying.
“Conforming during industry disruption isn’t enough. Instead, we’re helping brands to leverage digital advancements and new design principles to ideate and implement creative solutions that solve business problems and pave the way for growth opportunities”, added Brian Robinson, UK Managing Director at DEPT.
“The future-ready solution DEPT crafted for Harwoods is a testament to how our teams are pioneering tech and marketing to help brands stay ahead. Driving efficiency across customer-facing and behind-the-scenes operations will position Harwoods to win in the rise of omnichannel commerce.”
The project synchronises real-time sales across dealerships and online through integrations with CRM and other third-party systems.
The newly digitised business model also provides Harwoods with an accurate inventory, as well as extensive consumer behaviour data.
