ATLANTA – Manheim is enhancing the capabilities of its mobile website. Last month, Manheim added a suite of new features to its mobile offerings to help buyers do business anytime and anywhere, including:
Bid and Buy: Dealers have the option to buy now, place a bid or autobid on any OVE.com inventory from their mobile device. Customers then follow the same process as their other OVE.com purchases to complete their mobile transaction.
Make an Offer: Buyers are invited to “make an offer” and suggest the value they think a car is worth on designated Buy Now vehicles on OVE.com from any smartphone or web-enabled mobile device.
Manheim Simulcast Proxy Bidding: Buyers are able to place proxy bids on Manheim Simulcast listings via the mobile website; they can access Manheim’s Simulcast proxy list from the mobile website’s homepage.
My Buying Activity: Customers can now easily track recent OVE.com Buying Activity from Manheim’s mobile website. The My Buying Activity page is accessible from the homepage and includes units with live bids, on offer, won and lost.
“These new features open an entirely new set of opportunities for our buyers,” said Amy Mills, senior director, product management, Manheim Digital. “Customers can now be in the lanes bidding on one vehicle and on their phones placing proxy bids on another vehicle at the same time. We are excited to offer dealers the opportunity to buy anytime, anywhere. We want to help them avoid having to wait until they’re at their desk or in the lanes to purchase that must-have vehicle.”
Manheim has already sold units through its mobile website during the first few weeks the mobile buying feature was available. These vehicles were purchased from both dealership offices and Manheim operating location floors. The first car purchased through the mobile site – a 2008 gray Lincoln MKZ – was purchased by Benjamin Weber of Gabriel Jordan Ford Mercury dealership in Livingston, Texas, on June 20.
“I was impressed with how easy it was to purchase a vehicle straight from my phone,” said Weber. “Now that I know how effortless the process is, I am looking forward to using my smartphone to quickly bid on and buy OVE.com cars in the future.”
Before customers commit to purchasing a vehicle, they are able to view any reports listed with the unit, including CarFax, AutoCheck, Seller Disclosure and Condition reports. Manheim also recently updated the look and feel of several pages on the mobile website to make it easier and more efficient for dealers to navigate and use the site.
“Enhancing the capabilities of Manheim’s mobile platforms is an important part of our digital strategy,” said Joe George, group vice president, Manheim Digital. “We believe every part of our customer’s experience needs to be fully enabled on mobile devices in the future, and this is a step in that direction – there’s no doubt that these features will create more, better and easier ways for customers to conduct business with Manheim.”
Customers can access the new features on smartphones and other mobile devices with web-browsing capability by visiting Manheim.com. Customers will be able to access these new features from Manheim’s Apple iPhone app later this summer.
