Dealers: ever wish the hang tags for your inventory on the lot would update themselves? That’s the aim for eCarTag, a subsidiary of Pearl Technology Holdings, who announced that its digital hang tags have just completed a first test pilot with Sonic Automotive, who plans to install the tags at all of its dealerships next year.

Sonic tested the tags for 90 days at its flagship dealership, Town and Country Toyota, in Charlotte, N.C.

Following what Pearl says was an “overwhelmingly successful” pilot, the company says that Sonic has ordered tags for its entire new and pre-owned inventory across the country, with a rollout to begin in 2016.

“We were thrilled that the pilot was so successful,” said Jeff Dyke, Sonic Automotive’s executive vice president of operations. “Dealers can sympathize with the amount of labor and effort that goes into changing paper tags on a daily basis in more than 100 Sonic dealerships across the U.S.

“Here at Sonic we have aggressive market pricing strategies across our dealerships that utilize a central custom pricing platform. The tags solve a huge issue for us and give us the speed and technology we have desperately needed. Such a simple idea, but not so simple to execute. So, I commend Pearl for bringing eCarTag to market and I’m sure other dealers will do the same.”

According to Pearl, the eCarTag digital tags are battery powered with an estimated battery life of approximately four years and a replacement cost of said batteries of only a “few dollars.” The tags can be installed and programmed by simply scanning a vehicle’s VIN and the digital tag with a smartphone. The tag then instantly synchronizes the vehicle to its listed price, which will proceed to update automatically.

The tags have other tricks, too, such as displaying up to five different messages in rotation, which can display targeted messages such as lowest payments, promoted sales, or even congratulate a customer who just purchased the vehicle.

“Paper hang tags have long been a hassle for dealers and are one of the most glaring changes that have been needed for decades,” said Bruce Thompson, Pearl’s chief executive officer. “Dealers are changing prices on the Internet faster than ever before. They pay attention to the competition and some dealers change prices daily. Most states regulate that the price on the Internet and the price on the lot must be the same.

“This creates a huge logistical challenge at the dealership.  We simply catch the Internet feed from the dealer’s listing tool and as prices change on the Internet, they are instantly changed on the lot.”

For more information on eCarTags, visit its site here.