The provider of digital marketing for dealers has added Dale Hewett as vice president of search, who will lead the company’s new search engine marketing and search engine optimization solutions, using organic and paid strategies.

Hewett comes on board with almost 10 years of experience in optimizing online visibility, most recently with Owner Search Services Group.

Tim Wilson has also joined the company as vice president of customer experience. Wilson’s 25-year career in digital media across multiple industries includes a stint with Google, helping Tier 1 and Tier 2 automotive clients.

In his new role, Dealers United said in a news release, Wilson will “fuel customer digital ROI while delivering white-glove service.”

In addition, the company has unveiled three new digital services, which will be featured at the NADA Show, Feb. 1-4 in Las Vegas. Hewett called them “game-changers in the auto industry.”

Omnichannel social media advertising: Ad campaigns across top social platforms that engage and convert car shoppers.

Search engine marketing and search engine optimization: Data-driven paid, organic and local search campaigns tailored to help dealers cost-effectively reach high-intent car buyers.

“Based on the hundreds of dealership websites and paid search strategies we’ve analyzed, it’s clear there is such a massive opportunity for car dealers right now to own search engines,” Hewett said. “Many stores are just leaving money on the table with their existing tactics, and I want to help put that money back to their bottom line.”

Access to experts: Direct access to a dedicated performance manager and team of certified digital experts who strategically optimize campaigns with best practices and ongoing testing.

“As VP of customer experience, my No. 1 goal is to build a world-class team delivering actionable insights and strategies for our dealers in every conversation,” Wilson said. “Our performance managers know that results — leads and car sales — matter most, which is why we provide analytics that focus on driving sales and service growth.”

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Retail My Ride said it has partnered with a large consignor company to sell its national clients’ late-model cars, trucks and SUVs on consignment in Texas, Georgia and Florida.

Retail My Ride and its partner expect the list of states, the number of institutional sellers and the volume of eligible retail consignment vehicles to grow dramatically in 2024, the company said in a news release.

“Our efforts continue to be laser-focused on building and supporting our online community to bring all types of automotive sellers – private and now institutional – and retail consignment dealerships together,” Retail My Ride CEO and founder Jim Horan said in a news release, “A platform where retail consignment can become the preferred option for millions of auto, RV and motorcycle sellers, and a go-to source of quality free inventory for participating dealerships in 48 states.

“We are very pleased with the response we’re getting from our private sellers, institutional sellers and our network of dealerships, who appreciate the value our unique retail consignment sourcing platform provides.”

The company said its Bulk Retail Consignment program provides:

— Above average vehicle condition grades.
— Vehicles available for selection weekly.
— Selected vehicles shipped to dealers free of charge.
— Authorized dealer listing price at “great deal” rating.
— Average retail value $18,000.
— Average turn rate 18-20 days.
— Earn a flat “success fee” per vehicle sold.
— Earn revenue on approved in-house reconditioning/repairs.
— Keep 100% of doc fee, F&I income and trade-in revenue.

The post Retail My Ride launches new program to expand dealers’ vehicle sourcing options appeared first on Auto Remarketing.

Same goes for the used-car market, it seems.

Despite a slowdown from the prior month and the heights reached in the summer, used-car sales in December capped what ended up being a pretty solid year, according to Cox Automotive.

One where expectations for used-car sales were exceeded, the company said in an analysis Tuesday. Considering the volatility over the past four years, that’s a “W” on the win-loss record.

“Overall, December used sales were a little soft when we think about the sales momentum we had since the summer, including lower prices all year,” Cox Automotive senior manager of economic and industry insights Chris Frey said in the report.

“Regardless of the December figures, we have to cheer the way the year ended, with the SAAR up from November and finishing above our full year January 2023 SAAR forecast,” Frey said.

Here’s the stat sheet.

There were an estimated 2.6 million overall used vehicles sold in December, Cox estimated, citing vehicle registration data.

That beat prior-year figures by 2.1%.

Looking at what Cox considers used retail sales (vehicles sold by dealers), there were close to 1.4 million sales in December, a 2.6% year-over-year increase.

Both overall and retail numbers, however, were down month-over-month. In fact, used-car sales (overall and retail) fell sequentially in both November and December.

Still, the seasonally adjusted annual rate for overall used-car sales came in at estimated 37.0 million in December, up from 35.6 million in November and 35.2 million in December 2022, according to the Cox data set.

The retail used-car SAAR was an estimated 19.6 million in December, compared to 18.9 million in November and 18.6 million a year earlier.

For full-year 2023, there were nearly 35.9 million overall used-car sales, Cox estimated. While that’s down from 36.3 million in 2022, it would beat the initial forecast for used sales. Cox estimates that there were 19.0 million retail used-car sales in 2023.

Looking ahead, the company anticipates 36.2 million overall used-car sales in 2024 and 19.2 million used retail sales. Both would be improvements from 2023, despite lingering supply challenges.

“The used-vehicle market is expected to regain some normalcy and balance in 2024,” Frey said. “However, the effects of lower new-vehicle sales in 2021 and 2022 are anticipated to keep the used supply constrained.”

The post Despite somewhat soft finish, used-car sales better than expected in 2023 appeared first on Auto Remarketing.

Susy Bento is the senior data scientist at FormRush, which provides a range of legal document templates tailored to various needs. On Thursday, Bento shared findings from an analysis to examine state-level unemployment disparities in 2023 based on data obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

With the primary objective being to identify and understand the variations in unemployment rates across the U.S., Bento categorized her results into two distinct clusters: those experiencing significant job growth and those grappling with higher unemployment rates.

Through a news release, Benton pinpointed the 10 locations with highest unemployment rates last year, adding some context about why.

1. Nevada: 5.4%

“Nevada had the highest unemployment rate at 5.4% at the end of 2023, with job recovery in hospitality and entertainment continuing to lag. The state’s heavy tourism dependence has challenged the rebound.”

2. District of Columbia: 4.9%

“Washington D.C., followed closely with 4.9% unemployment, as cuts to public sector employment like government administrative jobs have hampered hiring progress.”

3. California: 4.6%

“California unemployment stood at 4.6% last December, showing an uneven jobs recovery across regions with the tech-centric Bay Area rebounding strongly while other areas struggle.”

4. Illinois: 4.4%

“Illinois’ 4.4% unemployment rate in December reflects its gradual recovery from long-term declines in heavy industry and manufacturing across many metro areas.”

5. Delaware: 4.3%

“Delaware’s 4.3% joblessness underscores reliance on financial and chemical sectors facing consolidation risks that compound workforce impacts from regional declines.”

6. New York: 4.1%

“With Wall Street and the finance industry recovering strongly, New York’s 4.1% unemployment underscores how much the state relies on the workplace ecosystem and economic vibrancy of New York City.”

7. Texas: 4.1%

“Texas’ steady 4.1% unemployment despite its business-friendly policies shows that even resilient economies grapple with lasting impacts from pandemic turbulence. The state still copes with a hospitality sector not fully recovered and regional disparities polarizing metros.”

8. Washington: 4.0%

“At 4% unemployment, lingering aerospace declines in Washington weigh down hiring despite pockets of tech-sector resilience during turbulent times. The state contends with changes hitting cornerstones while emerging industries develop footing.”

9. New Jersey: 4.0%

“New Jersey’s 4% unemployment highlights an uneven recovery complicated by statewide barriers like affordability challenges for small businesses looking to expand workforces after the pandemic’s blows. Tourism and transit trajectories chart paths ahead.”

10. Michigan: 4.0%

“At 4% unemployment in December, Michigan continues to grapple with lingering manufacturing job loss that has spanned decades across its metro Detroit and Flint regions.”

Conversely, which locations have the healthiest employment situations?

Bento and FormRush discovered North Dakota and South Dakota both stood at 2.0%, while Nebraska (2.1%), New Hampshire (2.2%), Vermont and Maryland (2.2%) rounded out the best six readings.

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Just two weeks ago, I helped a client who had a marketer without much knowledge in the industry do some campaigns in social media that got my client’s Meta account restricted. Fortunately, I was able to bring their account back to life with a warning that a similar mistake can get the account eventually blocked.

The lending industry has done a great job in optimizing the customer experience from credit application to loan fulfillment; we have seen amazing innovations with partnerships between loan originations systems (LOS), credit bureaus, providers of alternative data, identity and income verification solutions, and AI powered credit decision providers so consumer can get not only fast decisions and also fast funding.

But unfortunately, the journey from lead to application has not seen the same evolution.

Until now, most lenders have relied on a combination of traditional and printed advertisements, lead aggregators and branch/office personnel to handle lead generation and customer acquisition efforts and follow ups with prospects; unfortunately,  branch managers, assistant branch managers, loan officers, branch specialists and other income generating positions are left ill-equipped, only to rely on phone calls/emails — even their own phones — and other traditional B2B tools to connect with prospects.

The current lending environment has forced many small and mid-size lending institutions (finance companies, credit unions and small community banks), to review not only their originations procedures but also to take a deeper look their customer acquisition initiatives, finding out that some of their methods that worked five years ago are not very effective today.

In today’s digital age, lenders will need to integrate both the traditional and the digital approach and provide their associates with sophisticated yet simple to use tools like a CRM so they can connect, communicate and establish a relationship with their prospects using their preferred channel (Text, Email, WhatsApp, GMB, FB/IG Messenger, Chatbot, LinkedIn) and convert prospects into applications more efficiently.

Deploying a centralized multi-channel communication tool allows lenders to implement controls, guidelines, record interactions, track follow ups, track campaign performance, have scripting and logic programmed, but most important comply with all federal, state and local regulations.

When marketing initiatives are deployed using the right channel, the right message and complemented with the right tools, lenders can create not only very long-lasting customer relationships but also gain a huge edge in their markets, saving money in customer acquisition costs, compliance.

Not all the channels work the same everywhere; if you are a credit union in South Florida or Southern California, even Chicago, I bet your team members are already getting referrals via WhatsApp (referrals that are invisible to your institution in a portion of the acquisition journey) so having a multi-channel approach will help you to improve response and account conversion.

With the right partnerships you can be both creative and compliant while using your company’s unique voice to convert prospects more efficiently in the digital age. Your prospects must know what is your differentiator and they only way they hear it is through the channel they use to communicate.

This is the best time to consider optimizing your marketing initiatives, reviewing the integrating your traditional and digital marketing campaigns, while providing your team the right tools to convert more prospects.

If you need more information, feel free to send me a message at info@conectamarketinggroup.com, and I will gladly contact you.

Andres Huertas is CEO of Conecta Marketing Group, which provides marketing consulting services and SaaS multi-channel digital communication platform designed for lenders to help them maximize conversions.

The post COMMENTARY: Why lenders should leverage the power of multi-channel digital communications appeared first on Auto Remarketing.

The report said prices last week fell 0.51%. In the last week of 2023,  they depreciated 0.55%.

As for the past week, CBB said the drops were around 50% higher than the historical average.

Cars saw drops in prices of a higher 0.59%, while trucks and SUVs saw a less significant drop of 0.42%.

Subcompact crossovers declined the most with a drop of 1.74%, followed by the subcompact luxury crossover segment with a drop of 1.23%.

Among the car segments, the luxury cars performed the best with an average of only 0.02%, followed by premium sporty cars with a drop of 0.33%.

Dropping the most were the compact cars, down by 1.11%. Luxury cars also dropped over 1%. (down 1.01%).

Trucks performed a bit better this past week, although all segments saw some type of depreciation. The subcompact crossover drop of 1.74% was the largest, followed by subcompact luxury crossovers (down 1.23%) and minivans (down 1.03%). On the other hand, full-size vans (0.09%) and compact vans (0.12) had the best week among the larger segments.

“Supply is building with decreasing demand for vehicles at auction on both sides of the border,” CBB said in its weekly report. “Upstream channels continue to tap supply before it can be available to wholesale markets.”

Most segments saw depreciation of over $100 over the course of the week.

Sell rates were as low as 3% and as high as 70%, but most were between 20-40%, according to CBB data.

“Last week we saw less sellers dropping floors, which has been contributing to lanes with lower sell rates,” CBB said.

In the U.S, wholesale vehicle prices dropped by 0.63%, slightly less than the prior week’s decline of 0.68%.

On the retail side of the market, the average listing price for used vehicles in Canada was down a bit week-over-week. The two-week moving average sits at about $37,600.

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According to the 2024 Embedded Auto Insurance Study, conducted by embedded automotive insurance marketplace Polly, Millennials and Generation Z consumers don’t want to just shop for insurance — they want insurance to be part of the car-buying process.

The survey of more than 1,000 consumers who had purchased a car in the previous 12 months, which Polly said focused on buyers 45 and younger, found 79% of the Millennial and Gen Z respondents said they believe it makes sense for insurance to be a part of the vehicle buying process and 81% said they want the option to purchase auto insurance while buying a vehicle at the dealership.

That compares to 63% and 60% among all consumers surveyed.

In addition, 82% of younger car buyers said being able to compare multiple quotes and buy auto insurance in their smartphones at the dealership would improve their car-buying experience.

“Our embedded auto insurance study reveals that Millennials and Gen Z aren’t just looking for vehicles,” Polly chief marketing officer Mike Burgiss said. “They’re seeking a holistic buying experience that includes insurance. The research is clear — consumer demand for integrated solutions is not a passing trend. It’s a new norm.”

The company said young buyers prefer a seamless car shopping experience that includes insurance, and that growing consumer preference for integrated insurance gives dealerships an opportunity to “unlock new revenue streams while enhancing the customer experience as they become a one-stop-shop for today’s modern car buyers.”

According to the Polly survey, Millennial and Gen Z car buyers said a dealership introducing them to an insurance shopping app that saved them money would make them more than 70% more likely to refer friends and family to that dealership, return to the dealership for repairs and maintenance, and feel better about making their next purchase from that dealership. And 68% said they would give the dealer a higher satisfaction rating.

You can download the full study here.

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Auto Remarketing spoke with Doug Betts, president of the automotive division of J.D. Power, who has been in that position nearly seven years, for a preview of the event.

The J.D. Power Auto Summit began as a dealer roundtable in San Francisco in 1985, and was hosted just before the NADA convention. Over the past three decades, the event has evolved into the popular destination for NADA attendees that it is today.

“It’s convenient to have the event just ahead of NADA, because all the different brands and OEMs are having their meetings with their dealer networks and talking about the future and products that are coming and things like that,” said Betts.

The dealers are in town, and they are looking for information to ramp up their business.

Back in the 1980s, Betts said J.D. Power was known mostly as a research and benchmarking business.

“I would say since then, that’s just a small part of our business now,” said Betts. “Now, we’re mostly what’s called a data and analytics company.”

For the auto industry, this means data like sales numbers, transaction prices, vehicle valuations, vehicle specifications and more.

For instance, “what (vehicle) configurations are sold and how, how fast do they sell and how much profit they sell for,” said Betts. “So, we really have a lot of information about which version of the vehicle is the right version for a certain location, or in a certain part of town, or in a certain city.

“We’ve got just tons of data that can be very helpful for both the auto industry, the OEMs themselves and for the dealers who are ordering cars and selling their cars,” he said.

This data translates well into sessions at the J.D. Power Auto Summit that are impactful to businesses across the auto industry.

OEM topics on tap

During the Summit, a variety of top trends in the industry are explored through different sessions. Every year, the Summit takes an in-depth look at specific OEMs going through changes or disruptions in the industry.

Stellantis’ Dodge brand has been in the hot seat lately as dealers and consumers look to OEM leadership to further modernize the brand.

During the OEM Exclusive session focusing on Stellantis, Matt McAlear, senior vice president of Dodge/SRT sales and marketing, will speak to the company’s ongoing evolution and redirection.

Betts said the OEM needs to make a transition, and a pretty dramatic one at that.

“Dodge’s place in the market right now is about big, supercharged V8 engines, and maximum horsepower. And we know as sustainable transportation becomes more important, those vehicles’ path is coming to an end,” said Betts. “So, how are they (Dodge) going to transition?”

Betts sees this session as a great chance for dealers and industry professionals to hear more about Dodge’s plan for the next five years. The OEM has recently announced some products that are electrified, but Betts said the brand still holds to the aforementioned outdated positioning.

“We expect it’s a good chance for him (Stellantis representative) to talk to 700 or 800 representatives of dealers … and a lot of these attendees are representing huge dealer groups, not just individual rooftops.”

In other OEM offerings, the summit will also host Mark Reuss, president of General Motors, on site, for a second OEM Exclusive session during the second half of the Summit. Reuss will speak on GM’s transformation following the auto industry’s “seismic” shift to electric, connected and autonomous vehicles.

What does EV data tell us?

For those interested in driving electric vehicle retail share, a panel at the Summit will explore information stemming from the data set J.D. Power calls its EV Index.

“We’ve merged together 26 different data sets all related to EVs or the comparison between internal combustion and EVs,” said Betts, and this session will pull trends and strategies stemming from this data and more.

“We are basically measuring all of the roadblocks to EV adoption; those things that keep a consumer from switching to an EV, like infrastructure or affordability,” Betts said. “And we’re measuring all those very precisely in a very granular way — all the way down to ZIP-code.”

If you’re a dealer and you’re trying to overcome obstacles to selling EVs, this session is for you, said Betts.

The EV panel at the J.D. Power Summit includes reps from J.D. Power, the government, NADA and more.

Big-picture franchise view

One of the most popular sessions Betts said is the annual Franchise Assessment. This session provides a full-picture view of how each auto brand in the U.S. is performing across consumer ratings, customer loyalty, residual values and EV brand strategy and more.

Betts said the assessment is typically the most popular session for dealers.

“Dealers have a franchise that they represent, and maybe they want to grow and buy another store that is a different brand,” said Betts. “In this segment, we use all of our data, and we walk through every brand that’s out there and talk about the strengths and weaknesses of the brand. We look at our transaction data and talk about the margins. We can see the margin that dealers who sell one brand are making versus another brand.”

During the assessment, speakers will discuss each brand’s progress and plans to transition to EVs, as well.

“If you’re a dealer and you’re investing in a particular brand, if that brand doesn’t do a good job of making this EV transition, you could be left in the dust,” said Betts.

This is an example of a session that Betts said brings all of the J.D. Power data to a topic “that is very interesting for dealers and is a staple of the event.”

Not just a celebrity, but a ‘car guy’

Talk-show host and media personality Jay Leno will also be featured at the Summit the evening of the event. Leno is a self-professed car guy, bringing not only a big name, but also many years of following the auto industry.

“We went through this dark period where everybody said, ‘Oh, you know, kids these days only want to play video games, and they don’t even get their driver’s license. They don’t care about driving,’” said Betts.

Although that may have been the narrative six or seven years ago, Betts contends “it’s over.”

“Celebrity personalities like Jay have brought the next generations into appreciating all the history of the automotive industry, as well as new technology,” said Betts. “It’s really healthy for the industry to have the new generation going to sleep at night dreaming about their first car.”

Why arrive a day early?

Bottom line? Time is money, and any extra time out of the office can impact the dealership. So why should NADA attendees come to Las Vegas a day early?

“It’s a good way to get an overall view of the progress of the industry,” said Betts. “We look at the whole previous year and how it unfolded, as well as the rate of sales and final conclusions for 2023.”

Attendees will be able to see a brand-by-brand view of “who were the winners and losers during 2023,” Betts said.

Further, the team at J.D. Power aims to forecast trends for 2024, “and we have a really good track record of being accurate on that,” said Betts.

Armed with this information, NADA attendees can go into the event with information to plan their conference out as productively as possible.

“After listening to our sessions, if they think they’re going to need better software, or they’re going to need to buy some equipment to sell EVs or whatever it is, they are now really well educated to go out and make some decisions at NADA,” said Betts.

The post J.D. Power Auto Summit to delve into OEM challenges, EV market & more appeared first on Auto Remarketing.

On Tuesday, the technology-enabled provider of title and registration services acquired Express OMV, further strengthening its position in the private tag agency space.

With this strategic move, DSN has expanded its network of tag agency locations to 18 across Louisiana, reaffirming its commitment to providing efficient and convenient tag and title services to Louisiana dealers and residents.

Earlier this month, DSN acquired QuickView Technologies, a cloud-based platform that provides title and registration record access to Texas dealers.

DSN said this acquisition of Express OMV is a significant milestone in its growth strategy. It reflects the company’s dedication to enhancing customer experience and ensuring individuals and businesses in Louisiana have easy access to essential DMV-related services.

By incorporating Express OMV into its network, DSN said it is better equipped to serve a broader customer base and meet the increasing demand for its services.

“Acquiring Express OMV represents an exciting step forward for DSN as we continue expanding our presence in the private tag agency space,” Dealer Services Network chief executive officer Joe Palumbo said in a news release.

“A primary objective has always been to make DMV-related services more accessible, convenient, and efficient. This allows us to achieve that goal on an even larger scale in Louisiana,” Palumbo continued.

Express OMV president and founder Brooke Barnett offered this perspective in the news release.

“We are excited to be a part of DSN’s vision for enhancing tag agency services in Louisiana,” Barnett said. “This strategic move allows us to provide more support, convenience, and efficiency to our customers.

“We look forward to a seamless transition and continuing to serve our community as part of the DSN family,” Barnett went on to say.

The post Dealer Services Network makes second acquisition this month appeared first on Auto Remarketing.

It begins with BlueDriver Max, a plug-in diagnostic tool used in the auction industry that is now available to dealers, allowing them to read the diagnostic codes of vehicles at auctions, private trade-ins and other acquisition points.

“We’ve had a very successful run with all of the leading online auctions using BlueDriver to quickly and accurately determine the diagnostic codes of incoming used vehicles,” Repair OnDemand chief sales officer Greg Lubrani said in a news release.

“Dealers will now have the same instant plug-in access for their acquired vehicles, enabling them to make diagnostic decisions faster and bring in additional used vehicles.”

From there, Repair360 is designed to let all areas of the fixed ops department, from parts to service to reconditioning, to view, collaborate and manage the reconditioning process.

Repair OnDemand said Repair360 “creates a seamless workflow for the reconditioning process to reduce administrative and workflow complexity” resulting in “faster turnaround times, better interdepartmental communication and an elevated customer experience overall.”

Finally, the Repair Exchange platform is designed to streamline the recon and repair processes by providing access to a network of more 16,000 technicians.

The company said the system facilitates the subletting of repair jobs and is fully integrated into Repair360, allowing for efficient management of repair jobs, direct work order dispatch, progress monitoring and communication within a single system.

“Speed and efficiency are critical components of getting used vehicles through the reconditioning process and out on the lot for sale,” Repair OnDemand president Randy Kobat said. “The solution set we are launching at NADA 2024 will help guide dealers through the diagnosing, reconditioning and repair of those vehicles, giving them a critical advantage over their competition in getting cars front-line ready for retail this next year.”

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