A London telephone box has been converted into a fully connected online showroom using Peugeot’s e-commerce system, 'Order Online' – staking a claim as the smallest car dealership in the world!
Opening for business in Russell Square next week between 7am and midnight every day until the end of this month, customers can gain access to the diminutive Dealership by getting a special code at http://www.Peugeot.co.uk/russellsquare. Inside, they will find a tablet device connected to the e-commerce portal, where they can browse, configure, finance and ultimately order a new car.
Dubbed ‘Peugeot Russell Square’ the tiny 0.8m square dealership, based in an iconic red K6-series phone box, has been established to highlight the success of ‘Order Online’, says Peugeot, which was launched in January this year.
Peugeot’s e-commerce site allows customers to complete the entire process of buying a new car from start to finish. Each user can create any number of different vehicle configurations, using all of Peugeot’s model range and option choices, before either continuing to order or saving their profile and returning later after consideration.
The first order was placed on the website within 12 hours of the system being launched. Since then, it has hosted nearly a million users who – during 1.5 million sessions – have completed more than 134,000 vehicle configurations and received more than 35,000 part exchange valuations.
Thursday afternoons are the most popular time for ordering a car, according to the data provided by the site, while Peugeot’s supermini 208 model is the car most ordered, accounting for two in every five cars bought via the online system.
David Peel, Peugeot Managing Director, said: “The World’s Smallest Dealership is a perfect example of how technology continues to change the way we research, view and purchase products.
“Not that many years ago, the process of buying a new car involved reading lots of printed literature and trawling around Dealerships. Now, despite a car being the second-largest purchase most people make in a lifetime, it can be done from anywhere – even from inside a phone box.”
At Peugeot Russell Square, customers can take a seat at a specially designed desk and browse a miniature forecourt in the form of a counter displaying 1:64 scale model cars. The Dealership has been kitted out with Wi-Fi and an iPad to enable the car buyer to do everything as they would at home; configure a vehicle, consider finance plans, get a part exchange value for their existing car and even book a delivery date.
The end-to-end e-commerce system also allows customers to start the process online and then visit a regular-sized dealership for a test drive, still giving them physical access to the cars. After test driving the vehicle, customers can log back into the portal from anywhere and find their vehicle specification still stored.
The Peugeot Russell Square showroom opens for business in London’s Russell Square on Tuesday 12 September.