How exactly does a car dealership become a Smart Store? Various solutions are used here, which can be implemented step by step. We present the most relevant solutions here.

Even medium-sized car dealerships often have 100 vehicles and more at their store - not only new cars, but also a significant amount of used and demonstration cars. However, it is often not so easy for sellers to keep an overview. Here the xplace Car Finder can help. The Car Finder app displays all vehicels and their currrent location - for sellers and service employees, the search time for vehicels will be reduced to almost zero. Cars that match the prospective buyers can be found faster and prepared directly for a demonstration and test drive. The result: Sellers have more time for their cusrtomers. And internal processes are being optmised.

In order to use this solution, a small sensor must be attached to all vehicles. In the Car Finder software, the sensor is then  linked to the corresponding chassis number of the vehicle. Each vehicle can then be located via the xplace Car Finder as long as it is within range of the previously installed repeaters. This way, sellers or service employees can always see where the vehicle is located at any given time, for example in the showroom, in the parking lot, in the workshop or in the car wash. A precise time-tracking of the entire way of the vehicle through service and sales is also possible.

While the Car Finder is primarily useful for the car dealership staff, there are of course also various ways to use digital technology to inform customers. For example, directly on the vehicle as a sales support: digital price displays, integrated into stylish steles, are placed next to the vehicles. Such displays for car dealerships are of course much larger than the electronic price labes known from supermarkets directly on the shelf. In the form of a large 17" display, for example, they offer similar possibilities to a digital kiosk system: This way, extensive information about vehicles and conditions can be displayed for both customers and sales staff. The displays can be connected via digital signage software, e.g. the data warehouse or the company's own website. A manual exchange of price tags is no longer necessary; instead, prices can be changed automatically by the system.

Information on the display can be, for example, the usual "performance data" of the car such as horsepower/KW and engine capacity, the size of the trunk, etc. In addition, an even more "emotional" use of such displays is possible without any problems: Videos can also be displayed that show the car in action on the road. This gives customers an even better impression of the vehicle's dynamics. Picture galleries or a color configurator (similar to a webshop) are also possible, to give a better impression of alternative colors. Finally, such displays can also be used to calculate financing or leasing offers or to show suitable accessories.

Interactive price diplays next to the vehicle are only one of many options for digital signage for the automotive retail sector: The term digital signage covers various types of digital displays that can be controlled directly via a central software, from digital price tags to interactive kiosk systems to big LED screens. Individual content can be played out across all these displays, which can be centrally managed via a content management system (CRM). The fields of application are diverse. Some examples besides the already mentioned interactive price displays:

Digital solutions can also be used to optimize the service in the car dealership. In addition to a customer-oriented information system, a similar system for employees is of course also conceivable. For example, a license plate scanner can be used at the entrance to the dealership premises to compare pre-planned appointments with the license plate data. So when a customer arrives at the premises, a digital information system can send an automatic message to an employee's Smartwatch or smartphone that the customer is arriving and what type of appointment they have.

In a few steps to the smart car dealership

With little effort and investment, car dealerships can use digital solutions to create real added value for employees and customers in a short time: Customers can inform themselves better on their own and waiting times can be significantly reduced for them. At the same time, car dealers can optimise processes, increase sales through cross-selling, up-selling, and service offers. Thus, an investment in a smart car dealership can quickly pay off.