How Mercedes-Benz of Bowling Green is enabling a luxury customer experience with Upstart Auto Retail
Products
Online Retail, In-Store Digital RetailMarket
Bowling Green, KYChallenge
To deliver the luxury experience their customers expect, Mercedes-Benz of Bowling Green needed a digital retail solution to eliminate the constant back-and-forth with buyers while showcasing a professional presentation and sleek UI.
Solution
While the dealership had implemented a digital retail tool with online and in-store capabilities in the past, customers were required to restart the entire experience once they came in-store, even if they previously filled out their information online. This friction tacked hours onto the deal or even resulted in lost deals in some cases.
Jerry Cousin, General Manager at Mercedes-Benz of Bowling Green, had previously worked for a dealer group that was in the process of transitioning to Upstart Auto Retail and was impressed by the connected experience. With its Online Retail, In-Store Digital Retail and AI-Powered Financing, Upstart allowed customers to shop where and when they wanted to while giving sales access to all the information they needed, to help their customers complete the buying process with less friction.
With Upstart’s strong support and communication, Mercedes-Benz of Bowling Green was able to serve
157 customers
using the in-store product in the
first month alone.
533%
Upstart Auto Retail has led to
a 533 percent year-over-year
increase in units sold per
salesperson per month.
AI-Powered
Financing
Mercedes-Benz of Bowling Green looks forward to using Upstart’s AI-powered financing tools that identify the lowest rate in 74% of decisions.
Results
With their dedicated Dealer Success Manager training the sales representatives on the in-store product, the dealership took less than a week to fully adopt the tool. In fact, in its first full month using the in-store product, sales representatives used the iPads with 157 customers.
According to Cousin, the sales team fully embraced the new tool as they recognized it as a differentiator that allowed for increased pricing transparency. Additionally, Cousin explained that Upstart provided strong support and ongoing communication with the team, making the transition more seamless.
More appointments and units sold
By providing continuity throughout customers’ online and in-store journeys, Mercedes-Benz of Bowling Green has fostered a level of transparency and trust from buyers who expect nothing less. As a result, they have seen double the number of customer appointments and a 533 percent year-over-year increase in units sold per salesperson per month from May 2022 to May 2023.
Additionally, since the dealership does a lot of deals outside of Kentucky, Upstart Auto Retail has enabled remote transactions and shipments, allowing the dealership to expand its buyer pool.
Expanding access to credit
Looking to the future, Bowling Green looks forward to implementing AI-Powered Financing, which will allow customers to take out an Upstart-powered loan directly from the online and in-store experience.
Upstart’s AI-powered financing tools enable buyers to identify the lowest rate in 74 percent of decisions, giving the customer more purchasing power.1 “We’re big fans of the fair lending concept and enabling car-buying for those who don’t have traditional credit scores,” Cousin said.
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About Upstart Auto Retail
Upstart Auto Retail is a leader in modern automotive retail solutions, providing the most seamless and flexible connected retailing platform for dealers to increase sales efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Visit us today at upstart.com/dealers
dealers@upstart.com