Reporting from this year’s NADA Show, CBT News welcomes AutoFi CEO Kevin Singerman and Executive General Manager of Preston Automotive Group JB Burnett to outline how dealerships are driving stronger results by unifying online and in-store buying experiences. Dealers are enabling customers to structure deals digitally while maintaining dealership control, using AI to quickly match shoppers with vehicles that fit their budgets, and adopting transparent pricing and payment processes that reduce friction, speed up transactions, and improve both customer satisfaction and dealership profitability.
Key Takeaways:
- Dealers seeing continued success are blending digital retail tools with an improved in-store experience, allowing customers to complete portions of the buying process online while still benefiting from showroom interaction. Giving shoppers control over payment options, financing inputs, and deal structure builds confidence and trust, while dealers retain the ability to manage pricing and profitability behind the scenes, creating better outcomes for both sides.
- AI-driven affordability and inventory tools are helping shoppers and dealership teams quickly match customers with vehicles that fit their budgets and approval likelihood, dramatically reducing friction in the buying process. By automating deal structuring and approvals, sales managers and staff gain more time to focus on customer experience, inventory strategy, and training, rather than being tied up in manual deal submissions and back-and-forth negotiations.
- Greater pricing and payment transparency is proving to accelerate deal speed while improving profitability and customer satisfaction. By presenting clear, digitally driven payment options early in the process, dealerships are shortening transaction times, reducing negotiation tension, and closing deals while buyers remain emotionally engaged after the test drive, ultimately strengthening both front-end and back-end performance.
Catch all of CBT News’ coverage of the 2026 NADA Show here.
