Efficiency is a profit lever. And for today’s top-performing dealerships, AI, automation, and digitization aren’t just buzzwords—they’re business drivers. According to the 2024 Digitization of Automotive Retail Study, dealers using omnichannel tools see a 53% greater positive impact on close rates from digital retailing compared to others. In this article, we’ll break down how Cox Automotive’s vAuto solution uses AI to help you connect cars with customers and close deals in a way that fuels the effectiveness and efficiency of your omnichannel approach.
Tip 1: Price Smarter. Close Faster
Ditch the guesswork. Price with precision. Improve the Experience.
Too many dealers still rely on gut feel or outdated pricing strategies—approaches that can hurt your customer experience. Consider this stat: Shoppers spend 40% of their time idle at the dealership—downtime that’s often partly due to back-and-forth negotiations about purchase price.
vAuto helps you price vehicles dynamically, so your asking prices truly reflect the market and meet customer expectations. Next, market-realistic prices set the stage for a more efficient, seamless path to reach an agreed-upon purchase price.
Tip 2: Appraise Smarter, Get to ‘Yes’ Faster
Speed up appraisals. Sharpen Recon Estimates. Close deals sooner.
Speed and accuracy aren’t nice-to-haves—they’re profit drivers. Dealers using AI-enabled appraising tools are able to appraise vehicles faster, ensure recon estimates are accurate, and provide greater transparency to customers. It’s all part of a larger trend: 49% of omnichannel dealers now use one or more AI capabilities to streamline operations.
With vAuto, you get AI-smart competitive sets and instant access to common problems to help you size up a vehicle’s value more quickly and present your offer more accurately and confidently to close deals with customers.
Tip 3: Merchandise Smarter, Connect Cars/Customers Faster
Today’s customers expect more from vehicle listings—the same experience they get from other online retailers. Dealers using automated, AI-smart merchandising ensure their listings provide the immersive experience customers expect. It’s part of the reason today’s top-performing dealers are 30 percent more likely to say their digital tools help deliver a seamless experience for buyers.
vAuto’s AI-enabled merchandising tools help you automatically configure your listings to showcase the vehicle features and elements customers expect to see, in the manner they want to experience. The end result is less time merchandising each car and more SRP-VDP click-throughs.
Turn Insight into Action
As AI and automation continue to reshape automotive retail, dealers who embrace connected technologies and data-driven decision-making will deliver results. By prioritizing quality data and connected tools, you can optimize every step of the retail journey—from sourcing to pricing to selling.
Want to learn more about unlocking your competitive advantage?
Check out our new guide, The Data Advantage: Turn Market Insights into Dealer Profit and schedule your personalized demo of vAuto.
