Since Frank Kent Motor Co.’s Cadillac dealership joined a trial of General Motors’ new online sales tool a year ago, the Texas group has noticed two positive trends.
The platform saves time because customers can select a vehicle, set up a down payment, assess the deal and choose financing and insurance products on their own or with a sales associate, said Aaron Hoernke, the group’s director of marketing. Customers can get accurate payment information through the tool without having to wait for an associate to confirm it with a manager.
And customers who go through that process are often closer to purchasing a vehicle than someone who simply submits a name and phone number while browsing a vehicle page, meaning the leads generated are more likely to result in a sale, Hoernke said.
“Customers are more engaged because they have more power,” he said. “They don’t come in and feel pressured by numbers.”
Frank Kent Cadillac in Fort Worth and Frank Kent Cadillac in Arlington are among a number of dealerships expanding on GM’s Digital Retail Platform, which was developed to create a consistent shopping experience and reduce the cost and complexity of selling vehicles.
Launched in 2021 as a tool to help GM sell electric vehicles, the automaker has expanded the platform to include all of its brands and engines as well as certified pre-owned vehicles under the CarBravo banner. The Digital Retail platform is already live in nearly 1,000 stores, including Cadillac, GM said. The rollout with Chevrolet dealers is underway and will continue through 2025, when the platform will also launch on Buick and GMC brand websites, GM said.
The automaker says the platform is a pillar of its plan to lower the cost of electric vehicles. The tool, along with the use of regional fulfillment centers, will help automakers save $2,000 per electric vehicle, GM President Mark Reuss said at the company’s last investor day, in 2022. The savings will come through increased efficiencies that result in faster delivery times and lower distribution costs, he said. Incentives could also be reduced because there will be less unpopular inventory on the lot.
A GM spokesperson told Automotive News that the company is on track to reach the $2,000 target. An update is expected at its next investor day, Oct. 8.
The ability to sell all vehicles on the platform, not just electric vehicles, came from dealer feedback that the tool would be most beneficial if stores could use it for their entire inventory, said Mark Sobczynski, director of Digital Retail Platforms.
“That’s when we moved to what we call internally an ‘all-in’ approach,” he said. “There’s been a lot of growth and evolution of the program, which ultimately affects the schedule. But I think it’s a good thing, in terms of the capabilities we’re able to provide to our dealers and our customers.”
Like GM, other automakers are looking to expand their online sales capabilities. Toyota and Lexus, for example, are adding F&I options to their SmartPath and Monogram platforms, respectively, while Nissan is revamping its Nissan@Home tool to make it simpler and more intuitive.
“Ultimately, the focus here is on simplicity, ease and consistency,” said Michael Hayes, GM’s director of future retail strategy. “We want to make it 100 percent transactional, both online and in-store, and then at all points in between.”
The automaker’s push to develop digital sales tools has raised concerns among dealers for years that the factory tools would become mandatory and a means of taking more control over the sales process. GM says its platform, developed in conjunction with a dealer council representing its roughly 4,000 U.S. retailers, is voluntary and has been adjusted in response to feedback.
GM has been “very attentive” to the suggestions, said Keith McCluskey, a Chevy dealer in Cincinnati who co-chairs the automaker’s advisory Dealer Executive Council. Dealers have made recommendations on call-to-action buttons and the layout of search results and vehicle detail pages, he said.
In the long term, he said, the platform could generate more sales opportunities and reduce dealer costs by simplifying the number of third-party vendors they use.
“There’s no doubt that it will continue to be refined as it develops,” McCluskey said. “It’s not over on launch day.”
Tekion, the automotive software provider that developed the technology that powers GM’s Digital Retail Platform and CarBravo, is working to solve challenges that have arisen from previous iterations of digital retail tools — such as inconsistent pricing and payment information or requiring customers to restart steps they’ve already completed, said Binu Mathew, Tekion’s chief technology officer. GM was an early investor in Tekion.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, “any online shopping experience was better than none,” Mathew said. “Now, even as a consumer, I want a seamless experience, and I will absolutely choose a car based on that seamless process.”
Digital Retail Platform pulls inventory, pricing and incentives. Mathew said Tekion’s technology can integrate dealership and customer relationship management systems, preferred lenders and F&I tools. The platform can handle cash, financing and lease transactions, Sobczynski said, creating a “completely warm handoff” for customers, no matter where they start and finish the transaction.
“We see this platform performing well because it’s so easy to use,” Sobczynski said. “It helps customers navigate the retail sales process more efficiently and faster.”
GM said its data shows the purchase rate from retail leads generated through the platform is about twice the purchase rate typically seen for Chevrolet and Cadillac.
Of Shaheen Cadillac and Shaheen Chevrolet customers who fill out a credit application through GM’s tool, 50 to 60 percent end up buying a car, said Matthew Platko, general sales manager for a Lansing, Michigan, dealership that’s active on the platform. In contrast, standard leads turn into sales about 12 to 14 percent of the time, he said.
Platko said he would like to see GM advertise its platform to generate more high-converting leads.
“There’s so much transparency in it,” he said.
Some dealers say local flexibility would help, from combining more dealer brands on websites to highlighting models that are more in stock in certain markets.
“We’ve learned that when people expedite transactions online and do as much of their work online as possible, they move further down the sales funnel. I fully support that,” said Ruddy Brito, CEO of Mastria Auto Group, which owns a Cadillac dealership in Raynham, Mass., on the platform.
Brito said he understands GM’s desire for customers to have a similar experience at any dealership they visit. But, he added, “every dealership has its own personality. So there has to be some flexibility in that.”