Making another marquee move to begin 2021, Cox Automotive has launched a new end-to-end digital retail experience today that it says can “bring every step of the car-buying journey and every part of the deal process together — start, flow, sign and close.”

Complete Retail, which is the first Cox Automotive-branded end-to-end retail solution, implements the services of Autotrader, Dealer.com, Kelley Blue Book, VinSolutions and Dealertrack.

It aims to connect each piece of the retail process, from working the deal to signing and closing. And connect the existing digital retailing solutions within the Cox Automotive family of companies. 

“For years, retailers and consumers have asked for the freedom to start and complete the car buying experience from anywhere, without having to backtrack, start over or re-enter data at any point in the journey — now they have that freedom,” said Lori Wittman, who is Cox Automotive’s senior vice president of dealer software solutions, in a news release. “Complete Retail isn’t just software, it’s progress toward the future that only Cox Automotive could bring together in one place.”

In the release, Wittman later added: “It is significant that Complete Retail carries the Cox Automotive brand because it provides all our clients — consumers, retailers, lenders, and OEMs — with flexible tools and a customized approach to shopping, sales and operations.”

Of course, Cox Automotive has long addressed digital retailing and various stages of that process through its host of companies Take the Accelerate tool at Autotrader, for instance.

But in an episode of the Auto Remarketing Podcast recorded Friday, Cox Automotive senior vice president of consumer solutions Jessica Stafford explained what makes Complete Retail different than Cox Automotive’s prior work in digital retail.

"Complete Retail is our way of connecting the dots between all of those digital retailing tools, and something that only Cox Automotive can offer because of the breadth of our tools and the portfolio of the businesses that we have,” Stafford said.  

"It's really connecting the dots for both the consumer, so that we can meet those demands of digital buying and seamless, intuitive experiences that are transparent and also consistent,” she said. “And then, of course, meeting the needs of our customers, whether its dealers, manufacturers, lenders who are looking for ways to provide consumers with that amazing experience and also drive efficiency in their operation. 

"Complete Retail enhances and makes even better each (of the) individual tools in that process, whether it's how your classifieds show up on Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book and digital buying tools there, or how those deals then feed into your VinSolutions CRM, allowing for communication with customers that's seamless. And then again, tiering all the way through the potential for e-signature,” Stafford said. “And so really the differentiator here is it's our time marketing it … as a true end-to-end solution that connects those dots.” 

Stafford explains Complete Retail in further detail in the episode below.