New year. New products.
The team at Upstart Auto Retail has been hard at work, continuing to improve our integrated platform that delivers the best car-buying experience for every shopper, anywhere. We are proud to announce two new applications—Upstart Auto Retail Online Sales and Digital Finance—to offer dealerships a seamless online to in-store car-buying experience, from search to signature. These applications are currently being piloted by select dealers, but will be widely available to dealers across the country in the second half of 2023.
The Upstart Auto Retail team will be showcasing these applications at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show in Dallas, Texas, January 26-29, 2023 in booth #5420. For those that can’t make it to NADA, this blog will cover what these products are, some of the benefits they provide, and how they work.
Online Sales
What it is
Upstart Auto Retail Online Sales puts the car buyer in the driver seat, allowing them to finalize their deal details and purchase a car 100% online. All that’s left is how the customer wants to get their new car (pick up or delivery).
With Upstart Auto Retail, dealers get our premium online shopping and lead generation tools where car buyers can browse or build their deals online, and pick up where they left off once they’re in your showroom. With the introduction of Online Sales, confident shoppers don’t have to wait to get to the dealership to finalize their deal details and sign documents, they can do it all from the comfort of their home—all that’s left is picking up the keys.
Benefits
Your complete retail solution
Designed with both dealers and car buyers in mind, customers can complete their entire deal online or seamlessly pick up where they left off in the showroom.
A modern car-buying option
According to research by Bain, 65% of car buyers said they would consider buying a car online. Dealers can now provide an online, self-service option for these confident shoppers who know what they want and are ready to purchase.
Top-tier customer service
For customers who need it, dealers can provide the same hands-on experience they would get with a salesperson in their showroom via live chat and video walkthroughs (virtual showroom) to build deals in real time.
Accessories and F&I menu integration
Car buyers can select accessories, add-ons, and protection plans that work best for them via a fully-integrated F&I menu.
How it works
Starting on a dealer’s website, car buyers move through the online retail process, selecting their car, the accessories they’d like, F&I options, and more.
After filling out a credit application, an Upstart offer is displayed alongside offers from dealer-preferred lenders. The car buyer selects an offer and the deal details are reviewed.
Next, the documents needed to close loans are automatically generated for eSignatures and an option to upload documents and stipulations is displayed.
The customer then schedules an appointment for how they’ll receive their car—pickup or delivery.
Lastly, the customer is congratulated, presented with their appointment time, and is given the option to submit a downpayment online and upload any remaining documents.
Digital Finance
What it is
Upstart Auto Retail Digital Finance is a Financing and eContracting solution with access to Upstart’s complete, connected auto retail platform. Digital Finance enables a simplified financing workflow for dealerships from credit application to offer presentation to e-signing of deal documents within a single platform for both Upstart’s AI-Powered Financing and other dealer-preferred lenders.
Dealers can close more deals with less friction via a complete, connected auto retail platform with real-time approvals and next-day funding. With no requirement to use Upstart’s in-store digital retail tools, traditional and single-point-of-contact stores alike can continue to use their proven sales processes.
Benefits
Reach more buyers
Expand your customer base with auto loans that go beyond what traditional loans can offer.
Close deals with less friction
Create a smooth car-buying process for both your sales team and customers with Upstart Auto Retail’s connected platform. And alongside real-time approvals and next-day funding, dealers greatly reduce contracts-in-transit (CIT).
Customize loan offers
Customize your deal structure including terms, APRs, discounts, down payments, and more.
Make an impact
Help more people get into a car they love via an Upstart loan that’s both equitable and trustworthy.
How it works
Digital Finance is a dealer-facing eContracting tool, providing sales and finance managers a single portal to finalize deals. There are many different titles for people in dealerships who would use Digital Finance—desking manager, finance manager, F&I manager, and sales manager, to name a few—but for this section of the article, we’ll simply call these users ‘manager.’
After signing in, the manager will search for and pick up a deal that’s already been worked and is in the dealership’s CRM system. By this point, a customer has already selected a car and some desking has already been completed in the dealer’s desking solution of choice.
The manager opens the deal and is presented with a pricing review where numbers are presented—MSRP, vehicle price, rebates, etc. Trade-ins, fees, taxes, and additional products are then added (protection plans, accessories, and add-ons).
Next, the customer is guided through a credit application and after it’s submitted, the manager can adjust offer details and then select the offer(s) they wish to present to the customer.
At this point, the customer is presented with offers, selects one, and the deal details are reviewed.
Then the documents needed to close loans are automatically generated for eSignatures and an option to upload documents and stipulations is displayed.
Lastly, the customer is congratulated on the purchase.
Additional information
We hope you enjoyed this sneak peek into Upstart Auto Retail Online Sales and Digital Finance. To learn more about Upstart Auto Retail, please visit the following sites: