New Outsell and RXA Annual Analytics Study Finds that Digital Retailing Plus Lifecycle Marketing Leads to 76 Percent Increase in Influenced Sales for First Time Dealership Buyers

Study results to be presented at annual Automotive Analytics & Attribution Conference, taking place Nov 16-18

Outsell announced today the results of a new study it conducted with partner RXA, a leading international applied artificial intelligence and data science company. The study examined 18 months of sales history across 1,180 automotive dealers – data on 7.4M U.S. consumers – to determine what impact Digital Retailing plus Lifecycle Marketing has on auto sales.

Digital Retailing enables buyers to purchase a vehicle any way they want, including completely online. Lifecycle Marketing means marketing to buyers throughout their purchase lifecycle – from research through purchase and maintenance – targeting content to the stage each buyer is in. Outsell’s platform allows dealers to incorporate information about Digital Retailing into their Lifecycle Marketing.

At a high level, the Outsell/RXA study sought to explore the impact of​ Digital Retailing combined with Lifecycle Marketing on influenced sales​, sales to both existing customers and prospects. The study found:

  • Influenced sales from Outsell’s Lifecycle Marketing for dealers who also had one of Outsell’s Digital Retailing partners on their website, increased 26%.
  • Influenced sales from these same customers increased 45% when those customers engaged with communications.
  • Influenced sales from Outsell communications to first time dealership buyers (prospects), jumped 76% when that same dealer used one of Outsell’s Digital Retailing partners on their website.

Matt Kristo​, Senior Manager ​of Analytics Services, Outsell, will present the study’s findings today at the Automotive Analytics & Attribution Conference, livestreaming Nov 16-18. Kristo’s session, titled, “Your best kept secret: Digital Retailing works but only if you tell people about it!” also feature speakers Katie Rouse, Marketing Manager, Newton Motor Group and Jason Harper​, Founder & CEO, RXA.

“This data clearly shows that when adding digital retailing abilities to lifecycle marketing have a measurable impact on sales,” said Harper. “And that’s across both existing customers and prospects – though it is amplified in the latter. In this economy, it’s imperative that dealers implement technology tools that can give them an edge, and this study shows that Digital Retailing and Lifecycle Marketing are two important approaches that can make a big difference.”

“Giving customers an option to buy online sends a message that the dealer is customer centric and transparent.  As the study proves, that matters to customers even if they don’t buy online or even submit a lead,” said Gary Marcotte, SVP of Customer Engagement Innovation at Outsell. “With Outsell as the brain of auto dealers’ marketing communications, which now features online buying tools such as Roadster, Gubagoo, or CarNow, dealers can drive higher sales, whether in the store or online.”