J.D. Power has launched a digital retailing platform that will enable vehicle shopping, payment calculations and electronic contracting.
The analytics giant said Tuesday that Shop With Ease, its digital-retailing-as-a-service platform, is supported by Darwin Automotive, the finance and insurance software provider J.D. Power acquired last year.
The platform will enable vehicle financing and purchasing from within the website of dealerships and manufacturers, J.D. Power said. Shop With Ease will power such capabilities as shopping by payment, payment calculations including taxes and fees, instant trade payoff information, vehicle reservation, trade-ins and vehicle sourcing, F&I products and e-contracting.
Phillip Battista, J.D. Power’s president of dealership technologies, told Automotive News that the company is providing the technology that can underpin a customized, branded experience for automakers, dealership groups and even lenders.
“Innovation from the combination of Darwin Automotive’s industry-leading software and consumer insights from one of the most recognized consumer brands, J.D. Power, has created an empowered automotive shopping experience,” Phillip Battista, J.D. Power’s president of dealership technologies, said in a statement.
“We call it J.D. Power Shop With Ease because we want people to be able to understand that they can design their own process around this and do it very easily,” Battista said.
“The big takeaway is that people can take advantage of any or all of the parts,” he added.
J.D. Power acquired Superior Integrated Solutions Inc., the parent company of Darwin Automotive, in July for an undisclosed amount. Darwin provides F&I menu software and other technology. J.D. Power said at the time that it planned to create a dealership technologies division.
The Darwin acquisition came shortly after J.D. Power announced plans to partner with finance and insurance product provider JM&A Group on an F&I product lineup.
Battista said Shop With Ease is the first major rollout from the dealership technologies division. J.D. Power is working on other potential acquisitions to expand its product portfolio, as well as internal product development, he said.