Feature Tour™ Enables Auto Dealers to Protect Margins by Showcasing Value-Added Vehicle Features to Online Car Shoppers

SYRACUSE, NY – March 7, 2019 – SpinCar, the global leader in digital automotive merchandising software, announced today the launch of Feature Tour – designed specifically to help auto dealers and OEMs increase gross margins by showcasing the key features and options included on their vehicles. SpinCar’s newest product offering replaces static VDP feature lists with customizable multimedia experiences based on a consumer’s self-identified interests. By highlighting the most relevant features and options of a particular vehicle, dealers are able to help shoppers understand the inherent value of that vehicle. Feature Tour helps consumers make more accurate product comparisons while also providing tangible justification for a dealer’s published price. Feature Tour content is currently available for more than 450 features across 18 OEMs.

Why it Matters: Today’s vehicles are equipped with complex features and capabilities that are difficult to explain. Lengthy lists and descriptions included on traditional VDPs do little to inform and educate online shoppers, especially in a mobile-first world. As a result, many consumers are forced to leave a dealer’s website to conduct additional research. Others disregard features altogether and use price as the primary decision driver when comparing vehicles from various retailers. These factors have contributed to eroding gross margins for dealers. Feature Tour addresses these challenges by bringing curated videos, images and explainer content directly to consumers while they explore the vehicles on a dealer’s website. SpinCar’s proprietary multimedia personalization engine educates consumers by showcasing the unique and valuable features of each vehicle that are most relevant to each individual shopper.

“While OEMs continue to enhance vehicles with a broad assortment of sophisticated, technology-enabled features, dealers are finding it harder and harder to communicate the value of these new capabilities to online car shoppers,” said Devin Daly, SpinCar Co-Founder and CEO. “Feature Tour provides auto retailers with a fundamentally new way to tell the unique story of each vehicle in their inventory. It’s yet another way that SpinCar is helping dealers harness the power of digital merchandising technology to deliver a better experience while maximizing the value of every shopper visit.”

How it works: Using SpinCar’s cloud-based software platform and database of OEM-endorsed content, dealers are able to automatically add a Feature Tour to any vehicle detail page. Online shoppers who visit those VDPs are then able to access a guided, virtual walk-through of the vehicle’s key features and options. Users can review all of a vehicle’s key features, or they can customize their Feature Tour based on self-identified areas of interest: safety, performance, technology or convenience. Valuable information regarding the shopper’s preferences and interests is then captured and used to suggest other vehicles with similar features, as well as facilitate more personalized follow-up communication from the dealer.

“SpinCar’s digital merchandising platform has already made a measurable impact on our business by bringing shoppers to our website and keeping those shoppers engaged longer,” said Gary Pretzfeld, Dealer Principal, AutoTrust USA. “Feature Tour provides another powerful capability that will enable us to develop even stronger emotional connections with consumers before they ever set foot in our physical showrooms. By making shoppers more aware and knowledgeable of the specifics of each vehicle, they’ll be able to make faster and more confident buying decisions.”

About SpinCar
SpinCar offers automotive dealers, OEMs and online marketplaces the industry’s most advanced platform for digital automotive merchandising. The company’s 360° WalkAround® technology builds trust between buyers and sellers by bringing the physical showroom experience to car shoppers wherever and whenever they want. SpinCar’s proprietary shopper behavioral data and VINtelligent® Retargeting solution enable dealers to deliver hyperpersonalized interactions across the entire car shopping journey. To date, more than 200 million virtual WalkArounds have been experienced by car shoppers across 15 countries. To learn more about SpinCar, visit SpinCar.com.

In the latest DrivingSales Webinar, Maddy Pisto, Director, SEM Sales and Account Management presents tactics to improve your Search Engine Marketing. 

Note: apologies for the introduction echo.  

Partnership Reflects Commitment to Ensuring Accessible Digital Content for All

  TUCSON, Ariz. – February 20, 2019— AudioEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: AEYE), a leader in cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) digital accessibility technology solutions that expands website access for individuals with disabilities while maintaining conformance with ADA-related requirements, today announced its partnership with Dealer.com, the premier digital marketing solution and partner for auto dealerships.

With this partnership, Dealer.com websites will now have the option to include the AudioEye Ally Managed Service Solution, a technology solution that identifies and resolves issues of digital accessibility, to ensure all site visitors experience barrier-free access with an optimal user experience.

Digital inclusion and ensuring a barrier-free user experience for car shoppers, is a top priority for Dealer.com. With AudioEye, Dealer.com can offer clients a holistic approach that audits, monitors and eliminates issues of accessibility. Dealer.com is offering the AudioEye Ally Managed Service Solution to all dealers and dealer groups within its portfolio, to ensure equal access for all and mitigate legal compliance risk. There has been a steady rise in lawsuits filed against businesses by plaintiffs claiming ADA Title III violations. Partnering with AudioEye ensures speed to compliance with applicable ADA-related laws and regulations, as well as conformance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1.

Until now, dealer marketers have had limited options to resolve issues of web accessibility; issues that can be time consuming and cost-prohibitive to remediate and that may require in-house subject matter expertise.

“Simply put, AudioEye is helping make accessibility accessible,” stated Todd Bankofier, chief executive officer, AudioEye. “From day one, our remediation technology begins resolving common issues of accessibility, and our team of experts provides ongoing monitoring to ensure compliance. We do the heavy lifting, freeing our clients to focus on what they do best. Further, accessible platforms, like those supported by our strategic partner, Dealer.com, provide efficiencies that yield economies of scale, allowing AudioEye to offer practical, no-brainer pricing for the thousands of clients supported across the single platform.”

“AudioEye’s mission and approach to driving website accessibility was the perfect complement to the highly-flexible, market-leading Dealer.com website platform,” added Bob George, associate vice president Products for Dealer.com. “As dealer websites transition more and more to become digital storefronts of the physical dealership, it’s critical that all consumers have access to that storefront – in a way personalized to them individually.”

 About AudioEye, Inc.
AudioEye is a technology company serving businesses committed to providing equal access to their digital content. Through patented technology, subject matter expertise and proprietary processes, AudioEye is transforming how the world experiences digital content. Leading with technology, AudioEye identifies and resolves issues of accessibility and enhances the user experience, making digital content more accessible and more usable for more people.

AudioEye’s common stock trades on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “AEYE.”  The Company maintains offices in Tucson, Scottsdale, Atlanta and Washington D.C. For more information about AudioEye and its online accessibility solutions, please visit www.audioeye.com.

 About Dealer.com
Dealer.com provides an integrated platform of Advertising, Website and Managed Services products which allow OEMs, dealer groups, retailers and agencies to leverage advanced digital technology and data to better engage and connect with their customers. The company practices a deep commitment to its culture of innovation, with a focus on health and wellness, making it one of the most desirable places to work, and a valuable partner for automotive retailers. Based in Burlington, Vermont, Dealer.com is a Cox Automotive brand. For more information, visit www.dealer.com.

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Instant Cash Offers Increased More Than 40 Percent Year-Over-Year in 2018

 IRVINE, Calif., January 23, 2019 – Continuing to modernize the offer process for both dealers and consumers, Kelley Blue Book today announces two new enhancements coming to its firmly established Instant Cash Offer tool, helping drive inventory and sales opportunities to dealers.

Instant Cash Offer, a tool designed to ease friction between car buyers and sellers during trade-ins and sell-for-cash offers, will debut a new admin tool for dealers and condition quiz for consumers in the first quarter of 2019. These features enhance an Instant Cash Offer tool that is growing in popularity. In fact, Kelley Blue Book saw 41 percent year-over-year growth in the number of offers generated in 2018.[1]

“The Instant Cash Offer tool helps drive inventory to dealer showrooms by aligning with consumers’ trust and confidence in the Kelley Blue Book brand,” said Colin MacGillivray, vice president and general manager of Kelley Blue Book Dealer Solutions. “Aligning with Kelley Blue Book not only helps eliminate friction in the vehicle review and offer process, but also provides dealers with a cost-effective source for inventory acquisition.”

The updated user experience and functionality of the Instant Cash Offer admin tool will help make it faster and easier than ever to assess vehicles, process offers, and track results. The updates include:

A redesigned modern user interface that improves functionality and processing capabilities.

• New Offer Overview page allows dealers to easily manage and track the state of the offer from one centralized location. The page includes customer contact information, Instant Cash Offer information, the offer price within the Kelley Blue Book Price Advisor and an offer status bar to easily reference status and next steps, as well as vehicle details.
• New Offer Assessment Review page enables the dealer to communicate with their customer about potential changes to the Instant Cash Offer and how that impacts the offer value. The page also includes a side-by-side review of the initial and updated offers, highlighting any changes.
• Improved Dashboard and Search Functionality for a more efficient layout with added functionality, such as multi-selection, tool tips and additional sorting options.
• Integrations with Digital Retailing that allows dealers to purchase an Instant Cash Offer integration with Digital Retailing, if desired.

The improved Instant Cash Offer tool also will include a new condition questionnaire for consumers. The interactive experience walks consumers around the vehicle, providing visual education cues for damage, and wear and tear, decreasing unnecessary friction during the process, and maximizing close rates.

“The new Instant Cash Offer features provide dealers and customers new insights to leverage during the offer process,” said MacGillivray. “Improvements also have been made to better match trade-in customers with dealer inventory.”

To learn more about Kelley Blue Book’s enhanced Instant Cash Offer, or receive an Instant Cash Offer demo, visit www.b2b.kbb.com, or the Kelley Blue Book’s booth (#1721S) at NADA.

About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)

Founded in 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource®, is the vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry. Each week, the company provides market-reflective values on its top-rated website KBB.com, including its famous Blue Book® Trade-In Values and Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor tool, which provides a range for what consumers can reasonably expect to pay for a vehicle in their area. Car owners looking to sell immediately can also get a redeemable, transaction-ready offer with Kelley Blue BookSM Instant Cash Offer. The company also provides vehicle pricing and values through various products and services available to car dealers, auto manufacturers, finance and insurance companies, and governmental agencies. Kelley Blue Book launched its first international consumer-facing site in 2017. Kelley Blue Book is a Cox Automotive brand.

About Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive Inc. makes buying, selling and owning cars easier for everyone, while also enabling mobility services. The global company's 34,000-plus team members and family of brands, including Autotrader®, Clutch Technologies, Dealer.com®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital®, VinSolutions®, vAuto® and Xtime®, are passionate about helping millions of car shoppers, 40,000 auto dealer clients across five continents and many others throughout the automotive industry thrive for generations to come. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately-owned, Atlanta-based company with revenues exceeding $20 billion. www.coxautoinc.com

We discuss the future of AI with Lance Shafer from Lotlinx. What's next for the technology and how can it better help your dealership make decisions?

BURLINGTON, Vt., January 15, 2019 – Dealer.com, the premier digital marketing solution and partner for auto dealerships, will unveil new capabilities this month at the NADA Show. The new innovations will enable dealers to leverage cutting-edge data and technology to create a more personalized online shopping and buying experience, unlock digital marketing efficiency and cater to emerging consumer needs. 

The new solutions being launched help dealers deliver a more complete and connected digital storefront, with personalized experiences that reach and engage customers at every step of the shopping process while providing improved flexibility, customization, and Managed Services options. The innovations include:

A redesigned Dealer.com website platform delivers personalized shopping and buying experiences tailored to consumer preferences and behaviors.  Upgrades include new mobilefirst homepage and Vehicle Deal Pages (VDPs) designs that use HomeNet Automotive high-resolution and 360-degree imagery to provide more engaging, customizable inventory content. Integrated with Cox Automotive Digital Retailing, next-generation VDPs provide accelerated deals and immersive inventory merchandising.

• New advertising enhancements that drive proven and measurable results by connecting inventory with likely buyers more efficiently across digital channels. Key improvements include integration with vAuto that ensures ads reflect optimally relevant inventory, pricing, and shopper data, and enhanced audience targeting on Facebook that applies Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader data to help target likely in-market buyers. The Dealer.com TotalConnect Advertising package brings dealers a more complete multichannel advertising solution than previously available.

• Expanded and enhanced Managed Services offerings now provide dealers with more custom content services, including custom video capabilities, social reputation management, and custom fixed operations content and creative that allow dealers to enhance their overall digital marketing performance and attract customers across all lines of business.

• Secure and integrated digital retailing fosters deal-making on any device and provides a streamlined online to in-store experience. Dealer.com websites integrate the most advanced digital retailing solution available, powered by Cox Automotive Digital Retailing tools, to drive shoppers down the path to purchase, increasing their engagement and creating stronger leads that accelerate dealer sales. Dealers using Cox Automotive Digital Retailing on their Dealer.com websites have a higher close rate and earn higher gross profits compared to traditional online leads.*1

“With more of the car-buying process taking place online, customers expect a digital shopping experience tailored to their specific needs,” said Mike Rother, senior vice president and general manager for Dealer.com. “The new Dealer.com capabilities help dealerships build a customized digital marketing strategy that puts the right vehicles and right deals in front of the right customers to drive greater engagement, satisfaction and sales.”

Dealers can deliver the personalized, mobile digital shopping experience customers now demand. Ninety percent of consumers say they prefer a unique car-buying journey that allows them to shop and buy in a very personalized way, according to the Cox Automotive Future of Digital Retail Study2, and the majority of all traffic to dealership websites (60 percent) now comes from mobile devices.3

Redesigned Website Platform to Engage Shoppers

• Dealer.com personalized websites are redesigned for the modern shopper. All-new mobile-first site designs differentiate dealerships and immersive VDPs turn browsing activities into buying behaviors. The streamlined design architecture includes homepage templates that focus on imagery, facet search, personalization and clean hero messages to make it easier for customers to find the vehicles and features they want. The updated Vehicle Deal Pages feature enhanced inventory merchandising and available integrations with Cox Automotive’s HomeNet Automotive 4K and SnapLot 360 technology, which enables high-resolution imagery and 360degree spins of vehicle interiors and exteriors. 

New Advertising Solutions to Target In-Market Buyers More Effectively

• Dealer.com Advertising solutions help dealers reach more buyers and drive them to relevant inventory, deepening their engagement with the dealer’s digital storefront. Integrated ad campaigns use advanced data-targeting capabilities to connect likely in-market buyers across paid search, display, social and video channels, influencing consumer demand at every stage of today’s digitally-driven shopping process.  An exclusive integration with vAuto allows dealers to automatically match the right car to the right buyer at the right price within their ad campaigns, generating more clicks and engagement for dealers at lower cost. New data and audience targeting integrations from partners Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book and improvements to the Compass strategy tool have also been implemented.  These solutions, integrated within the Dealer.com TotalConnect Advertising package save time and increase efficiency for shoppers and dealers alike, creating a more intuitive experience for car shoppers, advertising and website alignment for dealers, and increased traffic and leads.

Enhanced Managed Services to Create Custom Content

• Dealer.com is also expanding the offerings through its Managed Services team of digital marketing experts that provide cutting-edge strategy and execution to bring dealers the SEO, content and creative, and social media services needed to differentiate their dealership, drive more sales and book more services appointments. Managed Services has added content and creative capabilities to support fixed ops campaigns and the creation of custom videos to promote specials and incentive campaigns. Videos can now be embedded within landing pages on the client web site and become an asset to strengthen broader marketing efforts, including social media and search engine optimization.

The 2019 NADA Show will be held January 24-27 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA. For more information on NADA 2019 product announcements, visit Dealer.com at the 2019 NADA Convention and Expo, booth # 1721S.

1 Cox Automotive Product Analytics, Accelerate Dealer Close Rate Product Analysis (September 2018)

2 Cox Automotive 2018 Future of Digital Retail Study

3 Dealer.com 2018 DataView Digital Marketing Index

About Dealer.com

Dealer.com provides an integrated platform of Advertising, Website and Managed Services products which allow OEMs, dealer groups, retailers and agencies to leverage advanced digital technology and data to better engage and connect with their customers. The company practices a deep commitment to its culture of innovation, with a focus on health and wellness, making it one of the most desirable places to work, and a valuable partner for automotive retailers. Based in Burlington, Vermont, Dealer.com is a Cox Automotive brand. For more information, visit www.dealer.com.

About Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive Inc. makes buying, selling, owning and using cars easier for everyone. The global company’s 34,000-plus team members and family of brands, including Autotrader®, Clutch Technologies, Dealer.com®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital®, VinSolutions®, vAuto® and Xtime®, are passionate about helping millions of car shoppers, 40,000 auto dealer clients across five continents and many others throughout the automotive industry thrive for generations to come. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately-owned, Atlanta based company with revenues exceeding $20 billion. www.coxautoinc.com

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