The multi-lender, indirect car-buying platform AutoGravity, is building a data science team that could one day provide car and auto loan suggestions — much like Amazon, said Serge Vartanov, chief marketing officer for AutoGravity, during a panel discussion at LendIt USA 2017.
“One of the major innovations of the past few years — which has primarily been pioneered by Amazon — is the ability to watch folks’ behavior, and suggest things to them that are a better match than they could normally find themselves,” Vartanov said. “It’s in line with the consumer brand to educate folks on other vehicles, or other dealerships, or other finance offers they should be considering, based on large amounts of behavioral data.”
Specifically, he was referring to the Amazon feature, which provides suggestions such as, “people who bought this item also bought this.” Using similar data, AutoGravity would provide financing options based on popular offers for various vehicles, direct consumers to popular dealerships, and recommend highly rated vehicles that consumers may not have considered otherwise.
“Up until a few years ago this was impossible,” he said. “We’re building out that data science team to be able to help drive a little bit more of that behavior, and deliver that Amazon experience.”
In retail, consumers are increasingly rating their experience while in the dealership or transacting online, Danny Martinez, president of Blinker Inc., added during the panel. This level of data will play a big role in the future, he predicts.
“From the financing side there is more data, more analytics, better ways to manipulate it, and more sources,” Martinez said. “So I think you’re going to continue to see that and try to build a competitive advantage by building better support cars and leveraging data.”
