Edmunds.com Opens Exclusive Technology to all Car Dealers to Support New Era of Mobile Car Shopping

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Edmunds.com, the premier destination for car shopping, announced today that it will make its CarCode texting tool available for free to every car dealer -- including those who are not current dealer partners -- at the 2015 National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention this weekend in San Francisco. The offer will give dealers free and immediate access to a critical tool that engages a rapidly growing market of car shoppers who prefer to communicate via text message.

"It's clear that car shopping is going mobile, and by making CarCode freely available, Edmunds.com is helping to make this transition as seamless as possible for both dealers and shoppers," says Edmunds.com CEO Avi Steinlauf. "The auto industry is opening patents and sharing technology to reach its collective vision of alternative fuels, connected cars, and automated driving. The approach to the future of car shopping should be no different."

Edmunds.com's announcement comes at a time when text messaging is becoming a vital tool for all retailers, including car dealers. According to a study by Velocify, sending three or more purposeful text messages after contact has been made with a prospect can increase conversion rates by 328 percent. And Edmunds.com's own research found that at least one-third of all car shoppers said that they prefer to contact a car dealer via text message, as opposed to phone or e-mail.

Edmunds CarCode is a cloud-based SMS texting platform, tailored specifically to the needs of car dealerships, allowing them to receive texts from customers and respond directly from their mobile phones. The tool allows dealers to easily manage conversations through their CRMs to keep shopper interactions active and updated. The technology also makes it easy for dealers to support car shoppers when they have dealer-specific questions, such as those concerning inventory availability, price, photos and trade-ins.

Dealers can sign up for CarCode by visiting the Edmunds.com booth (#5738W – West Hall) this weekend at NADA 2015. The offer is available to all interested dealers, including those who are not affiliated as an Edmunds Promise Partner. There is no obligation for dealers to sign up for any of Edmunds' other services or partnerships.

Car dealers can learn more about CarCode at http://www.edmunds.com/carcode/resources/.

About Edmunds.com, Inc.
Car-shopping website Edmunds.com serves nearly 18 million visitors each month. With Edmunds.com Price Promise^®, shoppers can get an instant, upfront price for cars and trucks currently for sale at 10,000 dealer franchises across the U.S. Car shoppers can browse not only inventory listings at Edmunds.com and on its acclaimed apps, but also comprehensive car reviews, shopping tips, photos, videos and feature stories.  Named by Maritz Research as one of the most trusted online consumer review sites – and the only automotive site listed in the top ten – Edmunds.com  welcomes all car-shopping questions on its free Live Help Line at 1-855-782-4711 and [email protected], via text at ED411 and on Twitter and Facebook. Edmunds.com can also be found on YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+ and Flipboard. The company is based in Santa Monica and has a satellite office in downtown Detroit.

Contact:
Stephanie Mar
Edmunds.com Corporate Communications
www.Edmunds.com
Media Hotline: 310-309-4900
[email protected]

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SOURCE Edmunds.com

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