Personalized search offers dealers greater speed, more relevant results and accuracy

ATLANTA – Dealers looking for better online search results need to look no further as a result of Manheim’s launch of the automotive industry’s first intelligent search for wholesale inventory on OVE. This capability will reduce search time and deliver more accurate and personalized search results to clients using OVE, a digital channel within the Manheim Marketplace, a first-of-its-kind, omni-channel experience.

“We listen to our clients and are fully committed to making ongoing upgrades to ensure they can easily and efficiently transact with us in a digital environment that they trust,” said Zach Hallowell, vice president, Manheim Digital Marketplace and RMS Automotive. “We will continue evolving our industry-leading digital assets to anticipate and meet the needs and preferences of buyers and sellers. Our goal is to enable clients to make faster, smarter decisions through a modern, personalized online experience.”

With around-the-clock access to the world’s largest digital inventory, OVE is the one place to search more than 100,000 vehicles daily from commercial and dealer inventory, independent auctions and Manheim. In addition to seeing adjusted Manheim Market Report (MMR) pricing, clients can access condition reports, post-sale inspections and other assurance products on OVE to boost buyer and seller trust and confidence in online transactions.

As an integral element in the Manheim Marketplace, OVE serves 66,000 active users and 900,000 monthly visits, while handling over 500,000 competitive marketplace transactions annually beyond the off-lease, grounding dealer purchase.

Personalized vehicle recommendations

OVE’s intelligent search uses machine learning in order to learn clients’ behaviors and preferences over time. The new search shows results in order of most relevant to that client and offers more personalized vehicle recommendations specific to each buyer. Clients can sort search results by Relevance, Newly Listed, % of MMR or 11 other parameters. In the future, the continuously-learning search engine will start taking clients’ bid and purchase history into account in order to serve up increasingly more relevant inventory recommendations over time.

Accurate, optimized search results

The new search provides a comprehensive set of search enhancements that optimize the presentation of information on each listing, ensuring that clients receive the search results that they expect. Search filters display the number of matching vehicles for each attribute, allowing clients to refine their search with key information at a glance. A “new listings” indicator appears for vehicles that have not been re-listed by the same seller and VIN, and new listings are presented first whenever clients run a saved search. Additionally, a live countdown timer appears for listings that will expire in less than 24 hours.

Fast, flexible search experience

With a new auto-complete feature, clients can quickly see matching inventory prepopulate as they type in the search field. With just a few keystrokes or taps, OVE’s enhanced search capability matches inventory, sellers, auction locations and key vehicle attributes such as color and location.

About Manheim North America (www.manheim.com)

Manheim® is North America’s leading provider of vehicle remarketing services, connecting buyers and sellers to the largest wholesale used vehicle marketplace and most extensive auction network. Through 127 traditional and mobile auction sites and diverse digital channels, the company helps dealer and commercial clients achieve business results by providing innovative end-to-end inventory solutions. Approximately 18,000 employees enable Manheim to register about 8 million used vehicles per year, facilitate transactions representing nearly $57 billion in value and generate annual revenues of $3 billion. Headquartered in Atlanta, Manheim North America is a Cox Automotive™ brand. For more information, visit http://press.manheim.com.

About Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive Inc. makes buying, selling and owning cars easier for everyone. The global company’s 34,000-plus team members and family of brands, including Autotrader®, 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 100+ countries 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. coxautoinc.com

All-New Enterprise Module Debuts at NADA 2018, Drives Efficiency Across Rooftops

OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL (March 19, 2018) – vAuto is helping dealer groups gain greater operational efficiency through a more holistic view of their used vehicle inventory across rooftops with Provision Enterprise, an all-new module within the Provision system.

vAuto’s Provision offers dealer principals the most comprehensive used-vehicle market data and inventory management decision-making insights in the industry. With the Enterprise module, dealer principals and managers can more easily view and compare used vehicle inventory and metrics across individual rooftops and the group to identify opportunities to improve sales and profitability.

“In today’s margin-compressed environment, a dealership group can’t afford to compete against itself,” said Randy Kobat, senior vice president of Inventory Software Solutions for Cox Automotive’s Retail Solutions Group. “With Provision Enterprise, dealer principals will be able to unify rooftops and seamlessly oversee inventory management across their stores from one single dashboard, creating a more cohesive data and insights hub to maximize inventory potential.”

The new Provision Enterprise module includes:

Provision Enterprise Dashboard: Enables dealer groups to gain a live, top down view of important inventory insights and metrics across all rooftops.

Centralized Appraising: Allows for group-level input and oversight of appraisals at individual stores, and offers strategic recommendations to place a vehicle at a store based on inventory need and favorable market conditions. 

Transfer Advantage: Identifies “in” and “cross”-market opportunities where an individual store’s inventory may have greater retail potential at another rooftop based on market conditions.

From appraisal to transfer, all three components of Provision Enterprise work together to drive increased efficiency and profitability potential across locations. Through this end-to-end approach, a dealership group’s rooftops will be better equipped to compete together as one enterprise- a necessity in today’s hyper-competitive used-vehicle market. 

“The Enterprise dashboard makes it a lot easier and more efficient to compare stores and identify opportunities to improve,” said Troy Idom, digital director for the four-store Natchez (MS) Auto Group. “It’s become a regular part of our weekly meetings with each store. Managers can see everything in black and white, and know where they are and where they should be.”

vAuto will be debuting the Enterprise module as a no-cost enhancement for Provision dealers at the NADA 2018 convention in Las Vegas.

About vAuto

vAuto® provides innovative technology, tools and business intelligence to thousands of dealerships across the United States and Canada, helping them compete more effectively and increase new/used vehicle sales volumes and profits. Founded in 2005, vAuto revolutionized dealers’ used vehicle operations with the groundbreaking Provision® suite of tools. Leveraging The Velocity Method of Management®, pioneered by vAuto’s visionary founder, Dale Pollak, the Provision suite guides used vehicle acquisition, appraisals, pricing, merchandising and more based on real-time, local market supply-and-demand data. In 2014, vAuto combined the Velocity method with the power of incentive management to create the Conquest™ new vehicle inventory management and pricing tool. In 2016, vAuto launched Stockwave to serve as the foundation for a suite of wholesale inventory acquisition solutions. Headquartered near Chicago, Illinois, vAuto is a Cox Automotive™ brand.

About Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive Inc. makes buying, selling and owning cars easier for everyone. The global company’s 34,000-plus team members and family of brands, including Autotrader®, 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 100+ countries 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. coxautoinc.com.

Account Portal adds feature to handle non-auction purchases and financing

CARMEL, IN (March 19, 2018) –  To streamline and speed up funding for eligible dealers purchasing vehicles through non-auction channels, NextGear Capital is announcing Rapid Pay—a feature withinAccount Portal, NextGear Capital’s account management platform.

For eligible dealers that want to floor plan non-auction inventory, such as dealer-to-dealer purchases or trade-ins, Rapid Pay expedites the process by accelerating funding, simplifying title management and giving dealers full visibility throughout the process – all within Account Portal.

With Rapid Pay, non-auction purchases are given priority for reviewing and processing funding requests. This means dealers receive their funding faster and can view the status of funding requests in real-time. Each non-auction unit floored through Rapid Pay is eligible for a pre-paid shipping waybill, allowing dealers to ship titles directly to NextGear Capital at no additional cost.  Rapid Pay truly makes the funding process simpler and allows vehicle titles to quickly get where they need to go.

“Dealers shouldn’t be limited by a cumbersome process to fund non-auction purchases with their line of credit,” said Sarah Lutey, NextGear Capital Director of Product Strategy. “With Rapid Pay, we give dealers enhanced control of their floor plan and a simplified process to finance the inventory they need to grow their businesses.”

With Rapid Pay, dealers are getting improved functionality, visibility and control over funding of their non-auction purchases. Now equipped with the latest technology for inventory finance, Rapid Pay offers the best real-time information, so that dealers can make the most informed financing decisions to acquire needed inventory.

Headquartered in Carmel, IN, NextGear Capital provides lending products and support services for the automotive remarketing industry in North America. For additional information about NextGear Capital, Rapid Pay and Account portal, please visit nextgearcapital.com or contact your local NextGear Capital representative.

About NextGear Capital

NextGear Capital is the largest independent inventory finance company in North America, providing flexible lines of credit for dealers to purchase new and used inventory at over 1,000 auto and specialty auctions and other inventory sources throughout the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland. The company’s products and services allow dealers to floor plan nearly any type of remarketed unit in automotive retail, wholesale, salvage or specialty, including recreational vehicles and trailers, marine, power sports, used heavy trucks, auto salvage and auto daily rentals. With a customer base of more than 20,000 dealers, NextGear Capital also provides a robust array of services and support that allow dealers to acquire and sell more inventory, including state-of-the-art online and mobile account management tools, title services, records management and collateral protection. The company is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana and is part of the Cox Automotive group of companies, which includes Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, Manheim and vAuto. Visit nextgearcapital.com to learn more.

About Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive Inc. is transforming the way the world buys, sells and owns cars with industry-leading digital marketing, software, financial, wholesale and e-commerce solutions for consumers, dealers, manufacturers and the overall automotive ecosystem worldwide. Committed to open choice and dedicated to strong partnerships, the Cox Automotive family includes Autotrader®, Dealer.com®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital®, vAuto®, Xtime® and a host of other brands. The global company has 33,000 team members in more than 200 locations and is partner to more than 40,000 auto dealers, as well as most major automobile manufacturers, while engaging U.S. consumer car buyers with the most recognized media brands in the industry. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., an Atlanta-based company with revenues exceeding $20 billion and approximately 60,000 employees. Cox Enterprises’ other major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications and Cox Media Group. For more information about Cox Automotive, visit www.coxautoinc.com. 

Americans Don’t Want to Talk to Robots but Welcome Chatbots That Make the Customer Support Experience More Efficient

SAN FRANCISCO—November 16, 2017—New data released today from Helpshift, the company revolutionizing the customer support industry through AI-powered customer experiences, reveals how Americans are feeling about the state of customer service in the U.S. and how they’d like chatbots to help make things better.

The survey revealed that, while they don’t like having to deal with robots over the phone when calling customer support centers or being forced to have extended interactions with chatbots, Americans are enthusiastic about interacting with chatbots if they help resolve their support issue more efficiently.

Americans dread contacting customer support

Most Americans (52 percent) gave customer service in the U.S. a “C” grade or lower, and almost all (94 percent) said that they dread contacting customer support.

When asked to pick the single thing they most dread, they said:

1. Difficulties communicating with agents in offshore call centers – 17 percent
2. Long wait and hold times – 16 percent
3. Being transferred around and having to repeat the problem over and over – 15 percent
4. Never-ending automated self-service menus – 12 percent
5. Being forced to interact with robots on the phone  – 8 percent

When asked what industry has the worst customer service, almost a full third (32 percent) of Americans agreed that it is telecoms (phone, internet and cable companies). This was followed by the retail (13 percent), insurance (9 percent) and airline (7 percent) industries.

Chatbots to the rescue?

Most Americans have regular interactions with chatbots—top reasons include using customer service (49 percent),  apps like Facebook messenger and WeChat (33 percent), and productivity tools like digital assistants (19 percent)—and have generally positive feelings about them. This is particularly true of Millennials, about a quarter of whom (24 percent) feel chatbots are definitely making things better.

Looking at the population as a whole, about one in five Americans (19 percent) say chatbots are definitely making things better, while another 40 percent say chatbots are helpful but aren’t living up to their full potential.

When we love chatbots

More than half (55 percent) of all Americans—and 65 percent of Millennials—want chatbots involved in the customer service process, particularly if chatbots: 

●       Make the entire customer service process more efficient – 75 percent

●       Reduce the time it takes to get an agent on the phone – 73 percent

●       Reduce the time it takes to resolve the issue – 71 percent

●       Help the problem be resolved over instant chat without having to make a call or email customer support – 70 percent

●       Reduce the time it takes to explain the problem to an agent – 67 percent

Americans also appreciate that chatbots are available 24/7 (49 percent), and many even prefer to deal with chatbots instead of people in certain cases—for example, if they need something quickly (18 percent) or the answer to a simple problem (18 percent).

"Seeing as the vast majority of Americans dread contacting customer support, there's a huge opportunity here for chatbots to fill the void and improve the customer support experience for consumers—and agents,” said Linda Crawford, CEO of Helpshift. “The message is clear: Americans value efficiency above all else when seeking customer support. If chatbots can make the support experience more efficient, they are glad to have them involved in the process. Brands that want to excel in customer experience should start leveraging platforms that facilitate the intersection of humans and bots.”

Survey Methodology

The survey was conducted online within the United States by Propeller Insights on behalf of Helpshift October 24-29, 2017, among 2,013 adults 18+. The results were weighted to the U.S. census for age, gender, region and income.

About Helpshift 

Helpshift bridges the disconnect between conventional customer service channels like email and phone support and a growing consumer base that does more on mobile phones and has a strong preference for messaging as the primary mode of communication. Through Helpshift’s streamlined support system, companies can resolve issues more efficiently, boosting customer satisfaction in the process. Companies such as Viacom, Virgin Media, Microsoft, Western Union and Flipboard and hundreds of other leading brands use the Helpshift platform to provide messaging-first customer support. Helpshift is installed on two billion devices worldwide and serves more than 600 million active consumers monthly. To learn more about Helpshift, visit https://www.helpshift.com/ and follow @helpshift on Twitter.

What are Consumers Buying Online? New Survey Says: EVERYTHING!
—‘State of Ecommerce in America’ Study Reveals the Latest Consumer Trends—

DENVER — Adtaxi, one of the nation’s fastest growing digital marketing agencies, released the results of its inaugural State of Ecommerce in America survey, an in-depth look at ecommerce trends and consumer preferences nationwide. From small inexpensive household items to mega, high-priced purchases such as automobiles, the scope and willingness of consumers to make purchases online has proven to be powerfully pervasive.

The survey reveals just how often consumers are making purchases online, what they are purchasing and the method in which they are purchasing them.

Key Highlights
·A majority of consumers (55%) would be happy to purchase everything online

·Convenience was the number one reason (50%) people shop online

·Seventy-two percent of consumers purchase something online at least once a month

·A third of consumers (32%) would purchase a car online

·Three out of five (59%) consumers purchase clothing online in a typical month

·When shopping for a product online, the most common (46%) first step of the process is visiting an online retailer like Amazon or eBay, whereas only 16% visit the actual brand’s site

·Running out of necessities most commonly (33%) prompts consumers’ online purchases

·Older consumers (60+) are much more concerned with sharing info (27%) than shipping time (4%), whereas the opposite (9% and 22% respectively) is true for younger consumers (18-29)

·Shipping costs are consumers’ least favorite (40%) aspect of shopping online
 

“These findings show a clear and growing interest from consumers to move away from traditional brick-and-mortar retail models and more toward ecommerce,” said Evan Tennant, National Director of Ecommerce at Adtaxi. “With the digital evolution of retail, consumers are becoming increasingly accustomed to the convenience of shopping from their couch, on the go, or virtually anytime they need things most—and all at the most competitive price—something that was never possible before.”

Webrooming vs. Showrooming

The survey also found that a large majority of consumers factor online shopping into their purchasing decisions—regardless of whether actually making the purchase in store or online.

·Nine out of ten (89%) consumers have gone to a retail store first and then looked for better prices online

·Conversely, nine out of ten (91%) consumers have also done shopping research online before going to a retail store

·A majority (54%) of consumers who do research online first ask the retailer to match the online price

“For marketers and retailers, these findings are extremely noteworthy, demonstrating the dominant role ecommerce plays in the consumer purchase journey – regardless of where they end up completing the purchase,” said Chris Loretto, Executive Vice President of Adtaxi. “This is definitely important for the retailer to consider when they are targeting consumers.”

Methodology

The study was conducted online using Survey Monkey. One thousand participants were polled, spanning across the United States. The demographic of those polled represented a broad range in household income, geographic location, age and gender.

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About Adtaxi 
Founded in 2010 within Digital First Media, Adtaxi made its mark in programmatic advertising before expanding into search, social, email and native. Over time, Adtaxi has refined and perfected its conversions-based approach, which became the foundation of the Magellan optimization technology launched in 2015. Adtaxi functions as a true partner with its clients, acting as a single point of contact and support through multi-platform campaign cycles. Find Adtaxi on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

TYSONS, Va. (Oct. 19, 2017) – Employment and payroll at U.S. new-car dealerships continued to rise through the first six months of 2017, according to a new midyear report released today by the National Automobile Dealers Association. 

New-car dealerships directly employed 1,134,200 workers through the second quarter of 2017, up from a record 1,131,900 in 2016, according to NADA Data 2017: Midyear Report, which provides a biannual financial profile of new-car dealerships, as well as data on employment, payroll and more. 

"We expect to see employment at new-car dealerships reach an all-time high at the end of 2017," said Patrick Manzi, NADA senior economist. "In addition to the direct employment provided by dealerships, more than another million other jobs in local communities are dependent on dealerships." 

Payroll at new-car dealerships reached nearly $33 billion in June 2017 year-to-date, up more than 11 percent compared to the same six months in 2016. 

The average compensation for employees at new-car dealerships was $69,784 per year in 2016. 

"For the past several years, dealership employees have seen steady increases in their incomes as well as in their total compensation," Manzi added. "Dealership jobs offer significantly higher compensation than other retail sectors." 

To download the midyear report, click here: https://www.nada.org/nadadatamidyear2017/

DENVER (September 19, 2017) – Adtaxi, a leading digital marketing agency, today released an in-depth report on the state of automotive digital marketing. Titled Increasing the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Your Dealership’s Digital Marketing, the report highlights key challenges facing the industry today as well as proposed solutions for conquering those challenges and achieving sales goals.

According to the report, car sales are expected to be down this year from the record-breaking numbers in 2016. In addition, data indicate that 80% of consumers now aim to learn as much as they can online, visiting dealerships only to confirm their decision or complete paperwork. With a customer base that is opting to shop for cars on the internet rather than making decisions at their local dealership, it is crucial for dealers to find ways of reaching their customers across digital platforms, adapting to the ever-changing technological landscape.

“Digital marketing technologies and campaign management best practices are rapidly evolving as competition in the marketplace increases,” said Brian Kroll, Adtaxi’s VP of Sales and Strategic Accounts. “Combined with this year’s decrease in car sales, these factors present distinct challenges for dealerships. However, if sellers implement new, cutting-edge digital marketing strategies to stay ahead of the curve, they can confront these obstacles, leveraging insights to improve targeting and achieve the desired results.”

Identified in the report, the three main hurdles that dealers must overcome are:

1. Identifying the dealership’s ideal audience
2. Identifying which digital channels offer the best ROI
3. Optimizing overall campaign performance using data across all campaigns

According to Adtaxi, omnichannel marketing lies at the heart of the solution. By utilizing technologies that analyze campaign performance in real-time and reallocate marketing dollars to the highest performing platform, regardless of channel, dealerships can gain an edge on the competition.

“The opportunity for a dealer to interact with their core audience is only limited by their ability to see where their audience is most reachable and susceptible to messaging online,” said Joel Sesco, National Director of Automotive with Adtaxi. “With omnichannel capabilities, a dealer is able to more precisely target the best high-value consumers, where they are – online and in the decision-making process – and in a way that will most effectively resonate with them, in order to provide the highest possible ROI.”

About Adtaxi 
Founded in 2010 within Digital First Media, Adtaxi made its mark in programmatic advertising before expanding into search, social, email and native. Over time, Adtaxi has refined and perfected its conversions-based approach, which became the foundation of the Magellan optimization technology launched in 2015. Adtaxi functions as a true partner with its clients, acting as a single point of contact and support through multi-platform campaign cycles. Find Adtaxi on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.