CarMax completed the rollout of its omnichannel retail platform last year and is beginning a marketing push to promote its digital capabilities. Omnichannel retailing refers to having the technology and processes in place to give consumers the ability to seamlessly shop for and buy a vehicle online or in a physical store — or in a combination of the two places.
The coronavirus pandemic has validated digital investments and omnichannel strategies for companies such as CarMax as online and remote sales became more important to all auto retailers. At the same time, competition in used-vehicle sales has soared with the growth of online rivals such as Carvana Co. and Vroom Inc.
“With the rollout of our omnichannel offering complete, we see immense opportunity to serve our core customers who are looking to buy and sell used cars on their terms — from home, in-store, or a seamless combination of the two,” Darren Newberry, CarMax’s senior vice president of store operations, said in a statement to Automotive News.
CarMax has owned new-vehicle operations since at least the mid-1990s. The company caused a stir in 1995 when then-Chrysler Corp. announced it would award CarMax a new-vehicle franchise.
At the time, CarMax was still a division of Circuit City Stores Inc. A 1995 article in Automotive News noted that the auto retail sector had historically been an independent, entrepreneurial one, but that CarMax’s new Chrysler operation would instead answer to a board of directors. This publication wondered, “With a Chrysler franchise in hand, could Chevrolet or Ford be far behind for CarMax?”
