9:50 am, September 20, 2017
E-COMMERCE specialist iVendi says it will have a ‘world-first’ off-the-shelf complete online motor retailing platform for dealers early in the new year.
Chief executive James Tew, pictured, said: ‘This is very much the holy grail of online motor retailing. Buying a car online is not like buying a pair of jeans. It is a process that requires everything from handling a part-exchange to motor finance.
‘Over the eight years that iVendi has been in existence, we have been working on each of the key elements of the process and, by early next year, will be in a position to deliver a complete solution to dealers and others.
‘We are now at the stage where we can incorporate a simple but important feature into the platform – a “buy” button. Getting to this point has been a long journey but we are confident that this product is absolutely right for this moment.
‘In the same way as a high street retailer might move into online sales by using e-commerce technology like Shopify on their website, dealers will now be able to use iVendi. It really is a genuine step change.’
Tew added that an important feature of the platform was its ability to handle continual switching back-and-forth from online to in-showroom sales for each individual customer. Up to 500 dealers had been using a trial version since the spring and it was currently handling sales in excess of £2 million per month, he said.
Brett Ward has been appointed head of online motor retailing to oversee taking the new release to market.
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