Editor’s note: This review reflects what vendors showed at the Modern Retailing Conference in November 2024. Products and partnerships may have changed since.
As I reflect on the presentations shared at the Modern Retailing Conference (MRC), it was clear that two of the largest technology companies have moved the cheese. By deeply connecting their tech stacks with identity resolution frameworks, they are showcasing how to create bespoke customer experiences based on better management of first-party and third-party data.
With rich, real-time contextual data on each consumer, dealers can power better customer experiences and create new sales enablement opportunities.
The Cox Automotive Inc. team’s presentation led by Jade Terreberry, made it clear that they are the automotive pioneer of CDPs (though they never call their tech stack a CDP), as they showcased their connected ecosystem across KBB, Autotrader, Dealer.com websites, Dealertrack DMS, and VinSolutions CRM. Their mature identity resolution framework is tightly integrated with VinSolutions and their Marketing Activation Platform (MAP), which I need to get an update on its marketing capabilities.
Brad Title and Aharon Horwitz unveiled the new The Reynolds and Reynolds Company Curator platform which ties together the Reynolds tech stack with the Fullpath CDP technology. I believe this partnership birthed the most impressive product that has been released by Reynolds in the past 20 years. The integration of the CDP data with Reynolds Focus CRM was breathtaking…really.
Aharon’s solo keynote prior to the Curator announcement ushered into the automotive retailing vocabulary a new word: data ups.
Identity resolution platforms can record signals of when existing customers are back on the dealer’s website or shopping at competitors’ websites. These are not leads, according to Aharon, but valuable signals which need their own work plan in the CRM. I’ll address this topic in a future article because CDPs are requiring a new “lead” category which most CRMs are not ready to handle.
The Cars Commerce (CC) team did not make a presentation at MRC regarding their connected ecosystem powered by their identity graph. CC has the benefit of the consumer traffic on Cars.com as well as Dealer Inspire websites to refresh their identity graphs. Without a CRM or DMS platform, it will be critical for Cars Commerce executives to accelerate deeper integrations with retail technology platforms, especially CDPs.
I’m including Dealer eProcess (DEP) into this discussion on the power of identity resolution frameworks since the online showroom will see major transformations in 2025. When Joe Gillespie, CEO, showcased their new Everest platform, I remarked that their team had the most innovative mindset for automotive websites, especially for dealers who want to maximize their first-party data. Joe made a commitment last year to be CDP agnostic, which is important for larger dealer groups who want choice in their enterprise CDP partner.
Everest is designed to take “data up” signals to power and enhance personalized web and communication experiences through contextualization.
Websites play a critical role in activating CDP use cases, and DEP has a vision to support sales enablement without barriers. Their digital ID (identity resolution framework) is powering personalization and better marketing without a CDP. Their websites are seeing performance improvements when dealers use their embedded tools which reduce slow iframe loading. The combination of Everest and DEP retailing tools makes it the best pick for dealers who want advanced data activation.
Comparing tech solutions
When I look at the companies who are creating new use cases for identity resolution and the growing need to support CDPs in automotive retail, it is hard to pick a winner. Here is how I see it:
Cox Automotive
Cox has a very impressive tech stack powered by an active automotive shopper identity graph. Cox is very focused on building out their ecosystem, which I applaud, and they have a huge head start which gives them first-mover advantage if played right. However, it feels that limited resources are allocated to support competing CDP / MAP technology frameworks (i.e. Tealium) and full support for the ASC specification.
Cox needs to properly resource their tech teams to be more collaborative with other CDP offerings and for dealers who are building their own data lakes, unless they are adopting a mindset of exclusivity. This has already been proven to limit growth in other verticals. Cox Automotive should consider selling their marketplace audience data to dealers who are advertising on Autotrader and KBB for activation in their CDPs.
If your dealer group goes all in with Cox Automotive software, then you will be in a strong place for leveraging first-party data.
With two marketplace websites, dealership websites, CRM, DMS, and CDP services all integrated, there is very little Cox needs to do to start building a technology moat which will only perform best with the complete Cox product line. I hope that dealers will be able to mix and match this with the use of clean rooms or integrated APIs.
Reynolds & Reynolds
ReyRey has clearly understood that they need to connect their tech stack with online identity resolution frameworks associated with an automotive CDP. Their choice to partner with Fullpath was smart since their CDP and MAP technology platform has been evolving at a rapid pace. Brad Title’s product reveal at MRC (Curator) had many dealers rethinking what a DMS partnership with Reynolds could look like in 2025.
Dealers with a Reynolds DMS have a new reason to consider sticking with their proven back-office platform and even expanding to software contracts.
Reynolds has also been very open to integrations with other CDP platforms, especially with Tealium which has caught the attention of many large dealer groups who are looking for an enterprise class customer data management platform. Reynolds didn’t purchase Fullpath, which I believe was a smart political move. Partnerships will not alienate Reynolds from establishing other enterprise CDP partnerships.
When you look at the Cox offerings and compare them to Reynolds, ReyRey is missing a competent website platform to feed contextual data into Curator and to make their digital retail and chat products more seamless and personalized. Fullpath identity tags will fill that gap for now. However, greater personalization can occur when you own the website technology, and too many third-party iframes slow down website experiences.
Yes, Reynolds owns Naked Lime. However, in the past few years, Naked Lime has never been included in any serious dealer group website discussions I have been invited to moderate. Dealers will likely need more clarity on their overall online strategy, but keep in mind that CDK no longer has a website platform either.
Reynolds also lacks a marketplace to collect automotive shopping data to power identity graphs with signals from outside of dealership websites. As dealers start to understand the power of audience data, maybe Reynolds will look to audience partnerships offered by companies like Client Command.
Audience as a Service (AAS) will become a fast growing market in the coming years as dealers invest in CDPs.
Reynolds’ announcement of Curator gives new life to their Focus CRM platform and more reasons to stay with DMS framework. Reynolds is rebuilding their tech stack with a modern approach to identity and data hygiene. This is great news. They are just behind Cox Automotive, who has had the lead in building a centralized customer record which can be activated across their platform.
Cars Commerce
Cars Commerce needs to join the discussion on CDPs and communicate how their identity graph, Dealer Inspire websites, and marketing automation platform (MAP) can be leveraged with dealers who are looking to create personalized shopping experiences, one-to-one marketing, and new revenue opportunities from a unified customer record.
CC started down this path when they announced FUEL video advertising (a few years ago) powered by their identity graph, but since then I have not heard anything new and compelling.
Lacking a CRM, DMS, or CDP means data partnerships need to be accelerated to keep their tech stack from being blocked by better integrated software elements.
Deep integration is a challenge for many software companies, especially standalone CRM platforms who do not have robust bidirectional APIs. I would like to better understand how Cars Commerce plans to integrate with an industry that is moving towards truly connected parts.
Dealer eProcess
At the Modern Retailing Conference (MRC), website technology was often woven into discussions around CDPs, data activation, and sales enablement. Dealers were looking for use cases on how CDPs could power better shopping experiences, and the good news is that DEP is leading the industry in bespoke, data-driven personalization.
At MRC, I provided new use cases for abandoned shopper activities which Aharon Horwitz called “data ups.” I love that term since we were aligned that these signals in the CRM are not leads but very valuable signals which a website can generate when integrated with a CDP.
Deeper integrations with websites and retail tools can DOUBLE the opportunities dealers have each month via data ups.
When DEP launched Everest and their Sherpa AI technology, I was impressed with their vision to support any CDP platform (and data ups) and to provide next generation personalization when dealers don’t have a CDP. They have integrated with at least three different CDP platforms and more announcements will be forthcoming at NADA.
Their tech stack supports tracking abandoned shopping cart activities today which is a great use of data ups.
The DEP tech stack includes online chat, digital retailing, trade, and credit prescreening software which is very appealing when you consider that too many different website tools can slow down websites. DEP websites are some of the best performing in the country.
Website speed was also a hot topic at MRC as Kevin Gervais from Auto Genius showcased their Speed Layer technology to address website load times.
With Joe Gillespie focused on the online shopper experience, it would seem that they would be best positioned to partner with companies that need a robust online showroom. That could include The Reynolds and Reynolds Company, Impel, CDK Global, or another company that wants to build a complete retail ecosystem.
The first CRM and website platforms who showcases meaningful use cases for data ups will see a very robust sales cycle.
What was missing at MRC?
Data hygiene
While the presentations at MRC were impressive, very few details from any vendor were focused on data hygiene. The term was mentioned many times, but other than my presentation of what we are doing at the Morgan Auto Group, dealers in attendance did not get any details about how Cox, Reynolds, Fullpath, fullthrottle, Activator, Client Command, or other CDP companies actually decide how to maintain customer data.
I’m hoping to see more automotive technology companies publish their data hygiene workflows so that dealers can grow comfortable with how their first-party data is being maintained over time. The data hygiene “process” has been a black box for years, if even addressed at all. It’s time to open that box and decide who has the most robust logic to keep customer data actionable.
Service schedulers
We shared at MRC that Reynolds & Reynolds had integrated their service scheduler with third-party identity tags which has opened up many new revenue use cases for dealers. I’m still scratching my head that CDK Global has yet to support the ASC Specification. I’m also disappointed that Xtime by Cox Automotive is not willing to support third-party identity tags – an inaction which blocks dealers from generating millions of dollars of new revenue.
Since there were four new AI-based service schedulers announced at MRC, the traditional service scheduler platforms will be replaced if the incumbents don’t wake up to support GA4 and identity graphs inside their iframes. This same warning goes to myKaarma , wiAdvisor from Dealer-FX , and other service schedulers who are comfortable in their outdated iframe technology model which are black holes for marketing and CDPs.
CDK’s roadmap
When you consider that identity resolution will stitch together the customer experience across multiple retail software platforms (websites, marketplaces, CRM, DMS, and CDP) to create better retail outcomes, it begs the question: How will CDK compete with only a DMS and CRM, which lack an identity strategy and marketplace audiences?
CRMs will no longer be “sticky” pieces of technology if they are not stitching clean data from CDPs, accepting data ups from identity resolution tags, and connecting contextual shopping signals to fuel better marketing and communications.
I hope to be surprised at NADA, but I don’t see the CDK Global path to competitiveness.
Looking forward to 2025
I am also calling on all dealers and technology platforms to contact me with their innovative use cases of identity resolution to power better digital marketing experiences. At the 2025 Digital Marketing Strategies Conference (DMSC), I want dealers to see how modern tech stacks can power better marketing campaigns, attribution models, and personalized communication.
CDP platforms better start proving their worth or dealers will grow tired of their claims regarding reduced marketing waste and the generation of new revenue.
I’m also looking to find the best marketing agencies who can accept real-time audiences from CDPs to deliver unique activation strategies. Not all digital agencies have worked with CDPs so it will be interesting to see how market moves will be accelerated by CDPs and API requirements for data security.
