Shift Magazine - September 2021 - Cover3

last mile
Using 'photo real' digital images, vendor offers
a new point of view on dealers' missing inventory
BY MARCUS AMICK
W
behind
ith dealerships now struggling
to keep enough inventory
on their lots,
digital
merchandising
product eVN AutoGraph has found a
greater purpose for its technology.
AutoGraph, which launched in 2014,
provides dealerships with " photo real "
digital imagery of their entire inventory,
with VIN-specific " emotive " images of the
vehicles, depicted at a dealer's location.
" If I'm looking for a Chevy Silverado,
and I want it in a red quad cab, whatever
spec, I might go to their website and see
that they don't have any, so I'm going to
close the tab and go looking for the next
dealer, " explained Peter Stevenson, CEO
of eVN, of suburban Detroit. " It's very
important for the dealer to be able to show
their stock. "
Not bound by the limitations and cost of
traditional photography, AutoGraph allows
dealers to digitally merchandize the vehicles
they have in transit as well as the
ones ordered, in addition to the vehicles
on the ground at the dealership.
According to Stevenson, data suggests
that 60 to 80 percent of the average dealer's
vehicle inventory is either in transit or
being built at the plant because of the
limitations stemming from COVID19
and the widespread chip shortage
impacting the industry.
" A dealer on our system has
100 percent of their full inventory
online, not just what's on the lot.
And ... right now, that's hugely
significant, " Stevenson said.
In a more normal sales
environment, in which
30 percent of a
dealer's vehicles
might be offline,
AutoGraph's VIN-specific images show in-transit or on-order vehicles at dealer locations.
for
the team
eVN estimates that an average dealership
might miss more than $2.5 million
in annual revenue by not having all of its
vehicles digitally represented.
" If it's proper-quality images versus
stock images ... that leads to far more follow-up
by the customer with the dealer on
a vehicle, " Stevenson told Shift. " About
three times as much lead generation
comes from those quality images versus
stock images. Frankly, it was fine 20
years ago, but you know the technology
has moved on massively since then, and
customers expect high-quality
imagery. "
AutoGraph - which is being
used by General Motors and
Ford dealers - is also capable
of delivering the computer-generated
images of the
VIN-specific vehicles for syndication,
providing dealers with
the same high-quality visuals
Stevenson: " This
stuff has to be
sharp and
consumable. "
their third-party media and advertising
platforms. Using a nonconfidential
portable version of a manufacturer's build
data, AutoGraph also allows for the quick
update of a vehicle spec if it happens to
change during the build.
This year, eVN plans to roll out shortform
videos that include rolling footage
of the vehicle. They will be able to feature
the vehicle in different environments, in
the event a dealership wants to customize
the background scenery based on the
store's location.
The video product, said Stevenson,
takes AutoGraph one step further in
engaging consumers in the growing digital
retail space.
" Something like two-thirds of interactions
with dealer websites these days
are via mobile devices and apps, so this
stuff has to be sharp and consumable, " he
explained.
" My point is that content is what's
really, really going to drive this. You can't
get away with showing customers an
approximate image and saying, in effect,
click here to buy this vehicle. " n
september 2021 * shift 23
Shift Magazine - September 2021

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