The Digital Dealer Conference & Expo took place at Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida on May 1-3, 2023. Thousands of professionals from leading dealerships and from all facets of operations as well as OEMs attended the conference. Speakers delivered over 75 actionable sessions presented by industry thought leaders and subject matter experts across dealership sales and service.

Key takeaways from the Digital Dealer conference:

1. Omnichannel marketing is hot: Dealers are strongly pursuing advertising and marketing across multiple channels to engage more customers, drive more traffic, and ultimately increase business at a greater ROI. Customers that start in a digital retail channel and then visit the dealership now expect a fully integrated experience from digital to in-store. Dealers are expanding their strategies and processes to optimize at each touchpoint and move customers further down the funnel including through investments in video marketing, advertising metrics and reporting, local SEO, PPC, omnichannel strategy, audience targeting and engagement, and social media. Expect omnichannel marketing spend to remain strong as dealers compete for fewer car buyers in this rising interest rate environment.

2. Human capital management technologies are expanding: Following pandemic staff turnover, dealers are spending on softwares to assist their more novice sales staffs. Further, veteran sales processes have again been disrupted by growing omnichannel sales and marketing. Dealers are spending on offerings that allow them to build and lead a loyal team and on technologies that drive efficiency including in talent management, culture, retention, reputation, and loyalty. Expect this space to remain hot as legacy platforms seek acquisitions to fill their gaps in human capital management.

3. Repossession capacity is growing: High vehicle prices coupled with high interest rates are putting pressure on consumers, and lenders are building their capacities for current and projected repossessions. Repossession rates have returned to pre-pandemic levels, and subprime loan repossession rates are now higher than in 2019. With the repossession industry facing the same labor shortages plaguing the macroeconomy, lenders are securing as much capacity as possible to be able to quickly recoup their losses on defaulted loans. Expect this space to continue growing, particularly if the economy falls into recession.

If you want to discuss this subject further, please schedule a meeting with our Director Lawrence Pier.

ComCap also publishes its Automotive Retail Software Market Activity Report that covers key themes, market landscape, recent transactions, and a list of the most active investors within the sector. Please find our Auto Report here.

The post Key Takeaways from Digital Dealer Tampa 2023 first appeared on ComCap.

The 2023 NADA Show took place at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas on January 26-29, 2023. The NADA Show is the automotive industry’s premier marketplace of innovations and solutions where attendees can search and shop thousands of products and services from the industry’s top vendors and suppliers, spanning from brand new start-ups to established Fortune 500 companies.

Key takeaways from the 2023 NADA Show:

1. Customer acquisition platforms are back: During the pandemic’s vehicle shortages, dealers cut advertising and adtech spends since additional customer demand could not be fulfilled without supply. Along with today’s more normalized vehicle supply, dealers now face lower consumer demand from increasing interest rates. Dealers must again focus on channeling customer demand into their stores. Expect customer acquisition spend to remain as dealers compete for fewer car buyers.

2. Sales and relationship management softwares are expanding technologies: In today’s post-pandemic environment, dealers face new challenges in re-learning how to sell vehicles and in adapting to most purchases beginning online or fully completed online. Following pandemic staff turnover, dealers are spending on softwares to assist their more novice sales staffs. Further, veteran sales processes have again been disrupted by customers that start in a digital retail channel and then visit the dealership expecting a fully integrated experience from digital to in-store. Expect this space to remain hot as legacy platforms seek acquisitions to fill their gaps in these digital to in-store integrations.

3. Inventory management is hot but with a new driver: Dealers remain actively focused on inventory, but are no longer singularly focused on sourcing vehicles. With interest rates and resulting floor plan expenses rising over the last year, dealers are now focused on flooring and moving the right inventory. Expect inventory management to remain hot as long as interest rates continue raising.


If you want to discuss this subject further, please schedule a meeting with our Director Lawrence Pier.

ComCap also publishes its Automotive Retail Software Market Activity Report that covers key themes, market landscape, recent transactions, and a list of the most active investors within the sector. Please find our Auto Report here.

Copyright © 2022 ComCap LLC member, FINRA & SIPC, All rights reserved.

About ComCap

ComCap is a premier investment bank focused on M&A and capital-raising services in the digital commerce, marketing, consumer, and payments ecosystems. Founded in 2012 in San Francisco, California, ComCap works with clients globally to ensure the achievement of their strategic priorities. For more information, please visit https://comcapllc.com.

The post Key Takeaways from the 2023 NADA Show first appeared on ComCap.

Key takeaways from the Digital Dealer conference:

1. Inventory and human capital management are hot: Dealers remain actively focused on inventory sourcing even with recent supply and price stabilizations. As felt across the broader economy, talent recruitment and retention remains a key pain point in dealerships. Expect human capital management to remain hot as dealers have perennially struggled to find and keep good people, particularly technicians.
2. Customer acquisition spend is returning: During pandemic vehicle shortages, dealers made cuts to advertising and adtech spends since additional customer demand could not be fulfilled without supply. Dealers are now looking forward over the next few months to return to a more average vehicle supply and a need for additional customer demand. More interesting is the shift for leads further down the sales funnel and, ideally, for sales fully completed online. The early pandemic saw dealers quickly shift to selling virtually, and we saw a number of digital retailing technology companies rapidly grow and be acquired. We are now seeing a consolidation of these digital retailing players with the strongest players able to complete the entire sales and F&I process online to deliver a fully booked deal to the dealership.
3. Asset tracking and lot management are expanding technologies: The technology that started with vehicle recovery for theft and buy-here-pay-here has significantly advanced allowing for tracking within the dealership. Imaging technologies and IoT connected car systems are allowing dealers to track customer movements and behaviors to optimize variable operations and vehicle and other asset locations to optimize fixed operations. Expect this space to remain hot through and beyond any recessionary period as key efficiency and cost cutting applications within the dealership.

If you want to discuss this subject further, please schedule a meeting with our Director Lawrence Pier.

ComCap has also published its Automotive Retail Software Market Activity Report that covers key themes, market landscape, recent transactions, and a list of the most active investors within the sector. Please find our Auto Report here.

Copyright © 2022 ComCap LLC member, FINRA & SIPC, All rights reserved.

About ComCap

ComCap is a premier investment bank focused on M&A and capital raising services in the digital commerce, marketing, consumer, and payments ecosystems. Founded in 2012 in San Francisco, California, ComCap works with clients globally to ensure the achievement of their strategic priorities. For more information, please visit https://comcapllc.com.

The post Key Takeaways from Digital Dealer first appeared on ComCap.