Click, buy, drive: The future of car shopping is omnichannel

In the early era of digital auto retailing, circa late 1990s, dealers tried to get shoppers offline and on the phone, ASAP, to book in-store appointments with salespeople. The internet was merely a warm-up act for the main event at the showroom. That was then. "Those days are done," says Jade Terreberry, senior director-strategic planning and business development for Cox Automotive, a provider of digital services to the auto industry and its consumers.