EXTON, Pa., Feb. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As car buyers spend more time online and fewer days in-market,1 the pressure is mounting for dealers to deliver a more tailored and engaging shopping experience that separates them from the competition. But adapting to the needs of today's informed and tech-savvy consumer is easier said than done. While 83% of dealers believe they can increase vehicle turn if they improve digital merchandising, only 12% think their online presence is highly differentiated.2
To help dealers turn this industry-wide obstacle into an opportunity and drive greater engagement online, HomeNet Automotive will unveil a new targeted digital merchandising solution as well as several enhancements to its 360-degree capture technology at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) convention in Las Vegas on Feb. 14-17, 2020.
"As vehicle sales are increasingly being won and lost online, having a digital merchandising approach that is engaging and targeted is only becoming more critical," said Randy Kobat, senior vice president of inventory software at Cox Automotive. "With the latest innovations from HomeNet, we're elevating the dealer-to-customer relationship dynamic by giving dealers the essential tools they need to create deeper connections with car buyers at every stage of the shopping journey, whether it be on a third-party advertising site or dealership page."
Bringing a new level of efficiency and personalization to digital merchandising, HomeNet's latest enhancements include:
Targeted Promotions:
Set to debut at NADA this year, HomeNet's all-new Targeted Promotions solution helps enable dealers to automatically generate targeted image content that is uniquely tailored to their dealership's marketing strategy, helping establish much-needed differentiation online. Targeted Promotions includes three key features:
"Since we started using Targeted Promotions with HomeNet, we have experienced a significant lift in the number of calls from interested car shoppers," said Aimee Rogers, marketing manager at Brad Deery Auto Group. "We simply added call tracking numbers to our photo overlays and have been shocked by the increase in online engagement."
SnapLot 360 Enhancements:
Introducing unprecedented automation to the digital merchandising experience at last year's NADA, HomeNet's SnapLot 360 solution is being enhanced for 2020 to help ensure dealers can get their inventory online and in front of consumers in a more efficient and engaging manner. According to HomeNet's 2019 360 Consumer Study, 73% of consumers who browsed and then bought or leased a vehicle rated 360 displays as extremely or very helpful.3 SnapLot 360, which is an interior and exterior 360-degree image capture solution, helps dealers capitalize on this sentiment and raise visibility with car shoppers. The solution will now include the following enhancements:
For more information about HomeNet and to schedule a demo at NADA 2020, visit https://www.homenetauto.com/, or visit us at the conference at Booth #2316C.
About HomeNet
HomeNet Automotive gets inventory out of your systems and in front of online shoppers. Today's car shoppers are researching, locating and evaluating cars online before they ever set foot in a physical dealership. Yet, dealers struggle to ensure inventory is consistently updated and distributed to all online destinations with speed, accuracy and quality. At HomeNet, we help dealers and industry partners merchandise and distribute their inventory from one unified platform and seamlessly push this information to their own website and all their third-party advertising sources. Based in Exton, PA, with offices across the U.S., HomeNet is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cox Automotive.
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
1 Cox Automotive, Car Buyer Journey Study, 2019.
2 HomeNet Automotive Brand and Product Study, 2018.
3 HomeNet 360 Consumer Study, 2019.
SOURCE HomeNet Automotive