Can U.S. auto retailers learn from Rome?

I’m living in Italy for a while.

As of this writing, we have just finished the first two weeks in Rome and the contrast with life in the United States is dizzying. The Eternal City is a cauldron of contradictions: intense beauty, ancient ruins and immense style versus unchecked litter, “optional” traffic lights, absurd bureaucracy and a cacophony of tourists and locals vying for attention.

It is chaos.

Contrasting with the chaos, however, is an almost universal shrugging of the shoulders. Rather than stay perpetually angry, Romans generally accept that there isn’t much they can control in their lives in this crazy city, so they just live as beautifully as they can. They often start their days at a later hour than we do. They eat long, multicourse meals, wear stylish clothes and spend precious time visiting friends and family. Restaurants never hurry you out the door.

A friend here offers a fine example of the prevalent attitudes. She owns a men’s clothing store in the Jewish quarter with no consistent hours of operation and drives a turquoise Vespa painted with flowers to work. One day, she showed me all the scars she’s gotten from accidents with her Vespa, shrugged her shoulders and laughed.

Importantly, Romans embrace old routines but are paradoxically some of the most tech-savvy people I have met. They enjoy their lives in ways Americans have long forgotten how to do, but their digital retail transactions are on par with the U.S. — from cellphone shopping to QR codes for menus to Wi-Fi access.

Even the ancient butcher from whom I buy porchetta (a delicious roasted and flavored pork) uses a wireless touch credit card machine. He also makes time to have long chats with his customers.

All of this has gotten me thinking about automotive retail technology advancements in the U.S.

As dealerships digitize, they are working to quicken and simplify the process customers follow when buying their vehicles. If digitization efforts work as envisioned, dealerships should find themselves with time saved. Will they use technology simply to speed up revenue generation, or will they also use any found time to improve the lives of their employees and even customers by slowing down a bit?

Is using digitization to boost productivity and revenue the only way to go, or should technology help free us to work productively as well as connect with the world around us?

Let me know your thoughts: [email protected].