At the recent J.P. Morgan 53rd Annual Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference, Cars Commerce CEO Alex Vetter emphasizes the company’s strength in developing integrated technologies that streamline dealership operations. For instance, dealers can assess a vehicle’s future value and, if they choose not to retain it, seamlessly sell it to another dealer or wholesale it through Cars Commerce platforms.
Unifying tools are emerging in all dealership departments. Vincue’s newly launched Catalyst platform offers dealers a comprehensive solution for managing new- and used-car inventory. Utilizing predictive artificial intelligence, Catalyst helps dealers determine optimal inventory acquisition, merchandising, pricing and distribution strategies.
“Our system helps dealers create the ideal inventory,” Vincue co-founder and CEO Danny Zaslavsky tells WardsAuto.
Such unified approaches enable dealerships to perform multiple tasks within a single ecosystem, enhancing efficiency and reducing costs as well as boosting customer satisfaction.
Vincue’s Catalyst replaces up to six separate systems, Zaslavsky says. That simplifies operations and can lead to increased sales. As consumers increasingly shop online before visiting dealerships, having the right inventory presented effectively is crucial.
CarGurus’ seventh annual Consumer Insights finds a shrinking number of car shoppers (26% in 2024 vs. 34% in 2023 who say available inventory is a top factor in their dealership selections.
Streamlining the Buying Process
Once customers enter the dealership, an efficient buying process becomes vital for satisfaction. Cox Automotive’s 2024 Car Buyer Journey Study indicates that buyer satisfaction is significantly influenced by the efficiency of the various steps during the purchase journey.
“The findings in the latest CBJ Study indicate that buyer satisfaction is influenced not merely by the time involved but rather by the efficiency of the transactional aspects of the buying journey,” says Isabelle Helms, Cox Automotive’s vice president of research and market intelligence.
She adds: “Auto dealers who embrace the latest technology and engage in a transparent, easy-to-navigate process have consistently delivered the highest levels of satisfaction.”
To address the need for a streamlined and transparent sales process, CarNow has evolved its platform from an online chat tool to a comprehensive messaging and digital retailing solution. This technology ensures continuity in the customer journey from online interactions to in-store experiences, providing salespeople with complete visibility into prior customer engagements.
“Once the consumer comes into the store, we ensure that there’s a continuation of that (online shopping) journey,” says Taylor Boone, CarNow senior director of product. “It’s not just the customer getting lost in translation or having to start over again.”
The software can also help dealers follow up on leads. Before CarNow, transactions required customers to use up to seven different technologies, Boone says.
The privately funded CarNow is used by over 5,300 rooftops, and its client base is steadily growing, he says.
The CarNow platform aims to consolidate all of the points in a customer’s shopping and purchase journey “in a way that makes sense to a dealership,” Boone says.
Other companies may have tools that are more developed than CarNow in specific aspects of the transaction, he says, but they lack other competencies that CarNow offers.
“We do really cover the ability for the dealership to maintain that level of customer continuity through the entirety of their journey, all the way into getting into the (dealer management system),” Boone says.
CarNow has “no appetite” for entering the DMS development business, he adds.
By adopting integrated technologies, such as those offered by Cars Commerce, Vincue and CarNow, dealerships can enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction – key factors in today’s competitive automotive retail landscape.
