What exactly is vehicle merchandising in the automotive world? Simply put, it’s everything a car dealership does to make their vehicles more appealing and sell them effectively, both on the physical lot and in the digital space. Think of it as showcasing your cars in the best possible light to attract potential buyers and drive sales. As Shopify aptly describes, merchandising is about “presenting products in a visually favorable light, to try and encourage purchases” once a customer is already interested.
For car dealers, this means making your inventory stand out from the competition, grabbing attention, and ultimately persuading customers that your vehicles are the right choice. However, a lot of what’s currently labeled as “inventory merchandising solutions” for car dealerships actually falls outside the true definition of merchandising. Many solutions focus on appraisals, CRM, inventory feeds, or general marketing – important tools, but not directly about enhancing vehicle appeal.
To be clear, in this guide, we’re focusing specifically on vehicle merchandising tools for car dealers that directly increase the attractiveness and desirability of the vehicles themselves. We’re talking about solutions that make each car on your lot and online listings more compelling to potential buyers.
Exploring the Spectrum of Vehicle Merchandising
Vehicle merchandising has evolved significantly over time, moving from traditional, in-person tactics to sophisticated digital strategies. Let’s break down the key types:
The Cornerstones of In-Person Vehicle Merchandising
The foundations of vehicle merchandising are rooted in traditional, physical dealership practices. These are time-tested techniques, dating back to the early days of car dealerships, designed to capture immediate attention on the lot.
These fundamental tactics are all about visual appeal and highlighting key selling points right where customers can see them. The basics include:
- Immaculate Vehicle Presentation: Ensuring every vehicle is spotlessly clean, both inside and out. A clean car simply looks more desirable and well-maintained.
- Strategic Window Stickers: Using windshield stickers to quickly communicate key selling points like low mileage, attractive pricing, standout features, or displaying the Monroney sticker for transparency and detailed vehicle information. These are easy-to-understand at-a-glance selling tools.
Beyond the basics, dealerships have become increasingly creative in attracting attention on the lot:
- Rotating Car Platforms: The eye-catching spinning car display, drawing attention to a featured vehicle.
- Creative Vehicle Staging: Like a Land Rover artfully positioned to appear as if it’s conquering obstacles, even when stationary. This creates a sense of adventure and capability.
- Innovative Dealership Design: Carvana’s unique approach with its car vending machines is a prime example of disruptive in-person merchandising, creating a memorable and buzzworthy customer experience.
Below, we’ll explore a range of vendors offering solutions to enhance both in-person and online merchandising efforts.
Fundamentals of Online Inventory Merchandising
Online vehicle merchandising initially aimed to mirror the in-person dealership experience in the digital realm. The early focus was, and in many ways still is, on price and visual presentation.
A visual example of online vehicle merchandising highlighting price and value.
High-quality imagery remains absolutely essential for online merchandising. Just as a clean car is vital in person, crisp, professional photos are the foundation of a compelling online listing. Now, video is equally crucial. With easy video sharing, walk-around videos and feature demonstrations should be standard practice for every dealership. Numerous providers specialize in automotive photo and video solutions, some of which we’ve listed later in this guide.
However, the emphasis on price-focused online merchandising – using “great deal” or “good deal” badges based solely on price comparisons – has a critical drawback. This strategy often pushes dealers to reduce prices preemptively. The only way to improve your online “merchandising score” becomes lowering your price, essentially negotiating against yourself before a customer even makes contact! This price-centric approach overlooks other vital aspects of vehicle value and market context.
Evolving Online Vehicle Merchandising Strategies
As the internet and data analytics have matured, more sophisticated online vehicle merchandising tools have emerged, offering benefits to both car buyers and dealerships. The current and future of effective online merchandising is shifting beyond just visuals and price. It’s about presenting each vehicle within the context of the local market and providing rich, informative details. This evolution leads to more informed customer interactions, better decision-making, and ultimately, improved sales outcomes.
Here are examples of advanced strategies enabled by modern digital marketing:
- Integrated Vehicle History Reports: Seamless access to CarFax or similar reports directly within the vehicle listing, providing instant transparency into a vehicle’s history.
- Dynamic Data Enrichment: Automatic VIN decoding to populate listings with detailed factory options and packages (like premium sound or cold weather packages), enriching the Vehicle Detail Page (VDP) with valuable specifics.
- QR Code Integration: Using QR codes on vehicles for instant mobile access to full vehicle details, allowing customers to easily learn more while browsing the lot after hours or from online listings.
These data-driven solutions deliver significantly more information to both dealers and consumers. They have been gradually transforming the automotive retail landscape for years, with adoption accelerating, especially during periods like the pandemic, where a robust online experience became paramount.
Advanced Vehicle Merchandising: Leveraging Local Market Intelligence
While the strategies discussed above are valuable, many still lack a crucial element: connection to the real-time dynamics of the local car market. These solutions often fail to answer key questions that are vital for both dealers and buyers:
- Vehicle Market Velocity: How quickly are similar vehicles selling in my area?
- Trim and Feature Popularity: How popular is this specific trim, color, or engine option within the local market?
- Local Supply Dynamics: How many comparable vehicles are currently available in my market?
- Competitive Pricing Analysis: How does this vehicle’s price compare to similarly equipped and mileage vehicles in my immediate market?
When a vehicle merchandising tool incorporates these local market insights, it empowers consumers with the same market awareness that dealers possess. This is the core value proposition of products like Badges by TradePending, used by over 700 dealerships.
In the example below, Badges highlights to both the dealer and the potential buyer that a specific vehicle is “One of a Kind” within a 50-mile radius. This data-backed claim strengthens sales conversations. When your sales team can confidently say, “This vehicle is in high demand and unique in our market,” it’s far more impactful when supported by verifiable local market data, building trust and urgency with the customer.
Example of a “One of a Kind” badge highlighting vehicle scarcity in the local market.
Measuring the ROI of Vehicle Merchandising Tools
Quantifying the return on investment (ROI) for merchandising efforts can be challenging for marketers. Historically, many aspects of merchandising weren’t designed for direct ROI measurement. Think of the impact of balloons on the lot, freshly washed cars, or complimentary coffee in the service area – their value is more about creating a positive impression and overall customer experience than directly trackable metrics.
At a minimum, effective merchandising provides compelling talking points for the sales team.
- Instead of just saying “Here’s a Jeep,” a well-merchandised vehicle allows a salesperson to say: “This Jeep is sparkling clean and detailed, ready for a test drive! Interested in taking a look?”
- Rather than just pointing at a Land Rover, merchandising enables: “Notice how we’ve showcased this Land Rover on the rock display? Want to experience its capabilities up close?”
However, when vehicle merchandising tools are implemented strategically and comprehensively, they should generate data-driven talking points and measurable results.
- Leveraging market data, a salesperson can say: “TradePending data shows this vehicle is ‘One of a Kind’ in our area and priced competitively for its mileage.”
- Integrating vehicle history reports allows for: “You can see from the CarFax report its excellent maintenance history and single previous owner.”
Modern online vehicle merchandising tools should be measurable, and dealerships should demand data-driven insights. Requesting that your provider integrate “event” data into Google Analytics is a key step. This allows you to segment website traffic and analyze how users interact with merchandising elements. Case studies, like this one on Badges, demonstrate significant website engagement increases (e.g., 3x higher engagement) when merchandising tools are utilized.
Persuasion is a core element of merchandising, and price is undeniably a persuasive factor. Price is part of merchandising, but it shouldn’t be the only lever. Avoid solely focusing on price reductions to improve perceived value. Instead, frame price discussions within the context of supply, demand, vehicle value, and market urgency. This requires better data and insights – consider exploring data-driven vehicle merchandising tools like Badges to equip your team with this crucial market context.
Leading Vehicle Merchandising Companies
Looking for specific vehicle merchandising tool providers? Here are examples across different categories:
Market Data & Vehicle Intelligence
TradePending – Badges: Differentiates your used and new inventory by highlighting unique attributes and market advantages. Shifts conversations to value and away from price-only negotiations. A strong tool for any dealership with inventory.
CarStory Market Report (now Promote): Focuses on vehicle features, price positioning (great/good/fair deal), and market comparisons.
Key Difference: CarStory vs. Badges?
CarStory primarily targets consumers and functions as a third-party lead provider. While their dealer product is valuable, it lacks the crucial local market supply and demand context that Badges provides. Badges emphasizes data on vehicle popularity and feature demand within your specific market, which is essential for building value and urgency with local buyers.
Photo & Video Solutions
DEP-i: Comprehensive photo, video, and visual content solutions.
Sold Online Dealer Assistant: Offers photo and video services alongside inventory management tools.
Cartender: Specializes in “top-tier” video technology for vehicle merchandising.
SpinCar: Provides 360° walkarounds and interactive visual merchandising technologies to enhance online engagement and sales.
Glo3D: Focuses on 360-degree car photography solutions.
Tru Images: Offers professional automotive photography and photo management software.
Snaplot by HomeNetAutomotive: Mobile-first photo capture using smartphones or tablets for efficient lot photography and quick online publishing.
Video Online by HomeNetAutomotive: Automated video creation from existing photos and data, and live custom video options.
eVN AutoGraph: Automates the creation of “photo-realistic” and VIN-specific imagery for entire inventories.
SmartLot Solutions: Offers a range of visual merchandising services: photography, 360° spins, live video, and background enhancements.
CarData: Provides full-service inventory merchandising, including quality photos, engaging videos, and on-lot service.
Vehicle Descriptions & Data Enhancement
Cars.com AutoCorrected: Enhances vehicle listings on Cars.com by automatically filling in missing data points for a richer VDP experience.
PowerWriter Next by HomeNet Automotive: Generates automated new and used vehicle descriptions with customizable messaging templates.
Window Stickers & Point-of-Sale Materials
Kelley Blue Book window stickers: KBB window stickers aim to build trust with shoppers on the lot. (However, consider the potential drawbacks of promoting third-party sites – as discussed in this article).
AutoRevolution: Provides dealer websites and data services, including custom Monroney window stickers.
DealerUPlink: Offers QR code stickers for vehicles, linking to more vehicle information when scanned.
Other Merchandising Enhancements
NuVinAir: Provides vehicle odor elimination solutions, ensuring a fresh and appealing interior environment for buyers.
