Reverse Omnichannel If digital retail is so great, then why does Apple have stores? Shipping a six-ounce phone is nothing compared to delivering a car, and yet... GPS Trackers and OBD Ports While I was working at Safe-Guard, in 2018, we adopted and co-branded a GPS tracker from ZAZ. Shortly thereafter, we learned that our crosstown rival,... Taxonomy of D2C Providers PayLink was the finance source we chose for Safe-Guard’s D2C program, and now they have launched their own D2C program, Olive. This looks like a... Auto Auctions Disintermediated Carvana acquired the Adesa auto auction last week. Discussion on Twitter said this was not fair play, cutting into the supply line, and that dealers... Network Effects in Dealer Systems Last month, I wrote that the recent acquisitions of several Digital Retail vendors were driven by the need to accumulate…... Looking for Work I am ready for my next engagement. This blog, together with my Linked-In profile, gives some indication of what I…... Digital Retail Consolidation There has been a wave of buyouts and tie-ups lately, and so it is time to reexamine the competitive landscape. …... The Case for D2C A while back, I wrote a survey of Direct to Consumer VSC Sales. This was a “how to,” and today…... DR and Dealer Websites I was chatting with my pal Kiran Karunakaran about his new role at Fox Dealer. You may recall that Kiran’s…... Spinoff Startups in F&I The popular notion of a startup is two guys in a garage, like Hewlett and Packard, but this is not…... Digital Transformation Playbook I read a good book over Christmas break, The Digital Transformation Playbook, by David Rogers. This is a good book…... Toward a Digital Auto Marketplace Will the big public groups dominate online retail, as I predicted last week, and drive private dealers from the field?…... Asbury Drive in the House Kelly and I were sipping coffee at Digital Dealer, greeting participants, and speculating on how the ultimate online buying experience…... Deconstructing the Dealership Remember when dealerships had body shops? Two out of five still do, but they comprise less than 20% of this…... Worry about Mobility, Continued This week, we examine the fourth piece of McKinsey’s automotive revolution, shared mobility. This is really a collection of trends…... Car Dealer Megatrends – Conclusion This is the conclusion of my series on car dealer megatrends. The first three articles covered the long running trend…... Dealer Megatrends Part 2 – Fintech Car dealers today face a growing array of new systems and capabilities. These are primarily in F&I, thanks to disruptive…... Dealer Megatrends Part 1 – Consolidation In the 2006 data, NADA noted a “moderate consolidation trend.” Since the recession, sales have recovered but the dealer population…... Raising the Bar Armchair strategists are feeling vindicated now that AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson has abandoned his “asinine” plan to ground all vehicles…...
