Stellantis E-SHOP (Winners) Highlights Website Disconnect

As the U.S. automotive industry attempts to simplify the way in which consumers purchase cars, there is a battle brewing between OEM mandated digital retailing platforms and open programs where dealers have a choice on how to build their (OEM compliant) online and in-store sales process. It should be no surprise that I favor a "data lake" model with robust APIs that will allow the very best technology companies (plural) to present consistent pricing at Tier 1, 2, and 3.

After my research report on the Stellantis E-SHOP platform was released this summer, I have been keeping an eye out for how Carzato has upgraded the E-SHOP platform to meet the needs of dealers and address my concerns with the capabilities of their software. I updated report will be released in Q1 of 2022 because they have made many upgrades.

Marketing E-SHOP

Stellantis is making hard push to get dealers to cancel their existing, and previously approved DR providers, in favor of E-SHOP. The Stellantis field teams are providing "evidence" that E-SHOP is a superior platform to convert shoppers to sales. As with any hard marketing push, it makes sense to validate the claims of the presenter.

In Stellantis presentations, the marketing team made a point to list the Top 5 dealers, who have experienced success with E-SHOP. Stellantis claims that their software has the second highest closing ratio of all DR companies in the previously authorized co-op program.

I looked and found two websites for Newberry Motors: newberrymotors.com and newberrymotors.net. The .NET website had E-SHOP but their primary website, on the.COM domain, did not have E-SHOP. More importantly, the .COM website was the one connected to their Google Business Listing, which means that the majority of traffic to this dealer's website will never see E-SHOP.

I couldn't find E-SHOP on the tubbsbrothers.com, which is well indexed in search and connected to their Google Business Listing as well. However, E-SHOP was on tubbsbrothers.net a secondary website and does not show up on Google Page one for a simple search "Tubbs Brothers Jeep" so what data is Stellantis presenting? The crumbs from their ignored secondary website that isn't used in their marketing?

The Lakeshore CJD website stopped me in my tracks, and was the inspiration for this article on website design, usability, and common sense. Here is what their VDP looks like:

There are 11 Call-to-Action buttons (not including Gubagoo chat or the specials promo) for this vehicle. The button labeled PAYMENT OPTIONS triggered the E-SHOP software. The CTA button that visually stands out is "Get My E-Price" since its a color violator and green.

This dealer has a second digital retailing tool on the VDP from Capital One which will also attract clicks and generate leads because it is also a color violator and a recognized brand name. Every other CTA button pops up a form or takes them to another page to fill-out a form.

50% Close Rates?

I find is misleading that Stellantis touts a 50% closing rate on Lakeshore's E-SHOP leads when there are 10 other types of form leads that this website design is generating. I wonder what a proper website closing ratio would be when all the lead forms are considered?

This design, controlled by the dealer, also shows me that Stellantis does not have the will, resources, or power to simplify the shopping experience for consumers. Is adding a 10th button a dealer's website an example of national success?

One final note about closing rates: it's a false friend metric.

1. If a dealer "locks" all prices, which requires a consumer to provide their information in a form before showing payments, the lead counts will be higher but the closing rates will be lower. This dealer show a price lower than MSRP without requiring contact information.
2. When comparing close rates, there are many design issues that impact the data as I have shown in this article. A dealer that has three CTA buttons will have different results than a dealer with 11 CTA buttons.
3. Dealers who eliminate most web forms in favor of conversational commerce have a significantly higher consumer satisfaction scores, double real sales conversations, all while reducing labor costs. Real-time retailing trumps chasing consumers in the BDC.
4. We all know that leads can be marked "bad" by anyone who wants to claim a prize for high conversion rates. We also know that depending on how dealers mark initial lead sources, the E-SHOP leads could claim higher close rates, even if the consumer came in via a previous lead source.

None of these factors are addressed in this marketing pitch, which is clearly stacked to present a favorable case for E-SHOP.

It would appear that in a rush to create "evidence" that E-SHOP is working well, the marketing team failed to understand how to truly evaluate the performance of a digital retailing tool.

I wonder of the Stellantis team would allow me to conduct a true audit of e-commerce performance across all digital retailing providers?

From the top three dealers used as examples in Stellantis marketing materials, it is clear that the data set is flawed. I wonder if anyone cares that the other digital retailing tools are just getting railroaded out of town?

Dealer Choice + Coaching

Dealers need help with understanding the best designs to optimize the consumer shopping experience. Dealers also need the best e-commerce tools that supports THEIR sales process and store culture. There is much work to be done and I stand with the dealers to help them create a modern retailing experience.

The belief that one company can create an e-commerce platform that meets the needs a a single store and a large public dealer group is not realistic. Before we waste more time on OEM forced initiatives like E-SHOP and Nissan Shop @ Home, we should have a meaningful discussion on what an open API development toolkit could do to make U.S. retail truly amazing, at scale, for all franchise dealers and manufacturers.

I welcome your feedback and comments publicly or via email: [email protected].

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