Category: Uncategorized

This infographic highlights five car buyer journey trends from Cox Automotive’s 16th Annual Car Buyer Journey Study, revealing how shopper behavior, affordability pressure, and AI are shaping the path to purchase – and what dealers should do now.

Speed deal-making, contracting, funding today — and prepare your organization for an AI & automation-driven future.

0:04
And we’re back.

0:06
Welcome to another episode of Small Bites.

0:08
I’m Greg Payne, Marketing Manager with Cox Automotive, and I’m joined, as always by my colleague, Andy Mayers, AVP of Deal Track Lender Solutions.

0:17
Andy, it’s so great to be back with you now.

0:20
In our last episode, we talked about structured steps and in today’s episode we’re going to be addressing stipulations documents specifically and more specifically how to ease and accelerate the upload and delivery process.

0:33
And I imagine that stips upload and delivery is going to take that to a whole new level in terms of efficiency.

0:39
Absolutely.

0:41
When you look at the whole ecosystem of of funding a deal, Greg, stipulation management as I call it, consists of multiple components.

0:49
The first is structured stips, which is we talked about last time, which is which document satisfies the stip.

0:55
The next part of the process there’s really how do I collect those steps, like what’s the way to get those turned into digital images because all of our lending partners want those to be electronic.

1:04
They don’t want paper anymore.

1:06
Nobody wants paper.

1:08
And then the second, you know, the third part of that is how do I get those stipulations delivered to a lender so they can evaluate that information down the road in the future, they’ll be stiff clearing.

1:18
We’ll get to that at other time, you know, as the industry evolves.

1:21
But if you really think about stiff management, the goal of step management is to speed up the funding process, right?

1:28
By eliminating clearing the steps faster for a dealer and a lender, contracts don’t wait when they get into the the funding queue for a lender.

1:37
And traditionally that’s what happens.

1:39
A dealer will send a funding package in with some of the stipulations, but at that point, I can’t really verify the income because what they sent me doesn’t match what’s on the application.

1:48
It slows down funding.

1:49
So everything we’re talking about is really speeding up the process for funding, which is a better experience for the dealer, better service from the lender.

1:58
Everybody wins in that situation.

1:59
So let’s break that down a little bit.

2:03
As I mentioned Stip upload, we talked about it in just about every, you know, conversation you and I’ve had.

2:10
We have consumers doing financing components now they’re shopping online.

2:14
We need to tell them how do I do things to to speed up the process And one of those things is having the customer provide documentation that’s required by our lenders.

2:25
And those are stipulations.

2:28
Step upload allows the in our system allows both either a dealer to use AQR code, take a picture or something or actually on our sites allows a consumer to take a picture and upload it.

2:39
And both of them lend land in the same deal jacket within our system that a dealer can then forward to a lender and they can do that with what we call STIP delivery.

2:49
Stip delivery, after I get an approval on the lenders decision page, I can actually take AQR code upload the stip, but not only once I have it uploaded, I can then send it to the lender and have them review it before it actually goes for funding.

3:04
So let’s say Greg, that we required some proof of income from you and your income actually was under reported, which happens sometimes a lot of consumers online under report.

3:15
Well, now that the lender knows that Greg’s income, his actual income from the the stipulation actually gives a lender an opportunity to actually lend more to that customer potentially or change their structure.

3:26
So a lender can actually restructure their loan offer based on your income.

3:32
So step delivery is really important because it does two things.

3:37
It allows the lender to re evaluate the loan at the time of credit, prior to the contract package.

3:43
It also allows the lender to clear a step so that when a dealer actually submits their funding package, they know they won’t have any issues, nothing’s missing and things like that.

3:51
So very important tools to drive efficiency and I think they’ll really help our lenders.

3:57
And you know, I think it’s where we’re going as an industry.

4:00
If you want to be fully automated, you have to have automated STIP.

4:03
You know, you have to have stip clearing, you have to have STIP delivery, you have to have the ability to upload the stip, and you have to know what those stip documents are.

4:11
Well, all right, that sounds like a great enhancement that’s going to be beneficial to all interested parties, the lenders, their dealer clients, and the consumers looking to purchase their next vehicle.

4:21
Andy, thanks so much again for giving us this download on Stips upload Delivery.

4:26
It’s really been a pleasure as always.

4:28
And thank you again to everybody tuning in.

4:31
Join us next time when we talk about the next topic in our Small Byte series, Linda referral.

4:36
Now, if you have any questions about steps, upload and delivery or any other topics that we’ve discussed previously in Small Bytes episodes, please don’t hesitate to reach out to one of our lender solutions experts.

4:47
Until next time, have a great day.

The conversations coming out of NADA 2026 made one thing clear: fixed ops is no longer just about efficiency behind the scenes—it’s about delivering a service experience that meets modern customer expectations while supporting dealership profitability. 

In the first Xtime Fixed Ops Focus webinar of 2026, Xtime leaders recapped the biggest takeaways from the show and explored how evolving technology, smarter workflows, and clearer communication are reshaping the service lane. The message was consistent throughout the session: dealerships that simplify processes and improve transparency are better positioned to earn trust and drive long‑term growth. 

Here’s a closer look at what stood out. 

The Service Experience Is Becoming More Seamless and Connected

Today’s customers expect convenience at every step of the service journey. From booking an appointment to approving work and completing payment, friction anywhere in the process can impact satisfaction and loyalty. 

One major theme from NADA 2026 was the growing importance of connected service experiences—where scheduling, check‑in, inspections, communication, and follow‑up all work together instead of in silos. When those processes are aligned, dealerships can reduce delays, minimize confusion, and deliver a more consistent experience for both customers and staff. 

Rather than relying on disconnected tools, dealers are increasingly looking for platforms that support the entire service lifecycle and help teams work more efficiently without adding complexity.

AI and Automation Are Having Everyday Impact

Artificial intelligence and automation continue to be major topics across the industry, but the conversation has evolved. At NADA 2026, the focus wasn’t on whether AI and automation belong in fixed ops—it was on how they can be used responsibly and effectively. 

During the webinar, speakers discussed how automation and AI‑driven tools are being applied to everyday service operations, helping teams respond faster, reduce manual effort, and communicate more consistently with customers. When used thoughtfully, these capabilities allow for dealership follow up on opportunities that might otherwise be missed and tailor outreach based on customer needs and service history. 

The key takeaway: AI and automation work best when they support people, not when they add another layer of complexity.

Visual Communication Redefines How Dealerships Build Trust

Another major trend highlighted during the webinar was the growing role of visual media in the service lane. Photos and videos captured during inspections are becoming an essential part of how advisors explain vehicle conditions and recommendations. 

When customers can see what’s happening with their vehicle, conversations tend to be clearer and decisions happen faster. Enhanced media tools such as clearer audio, easier editing, and better presentation, help customers understand which repairs need to be done and boost confidence in the professionalism of your service team. 

As expectations for transparency continue to rise, visual proof is quickly becoming a standard part of the modern service experience rather than a differentiator.

Payments and Processes Are Catching Up to Customer Expectations

NADA 2026 also highlighted a broader shift toward simplifying operational workflows, especially when it comes to payments and repair order management. 

Customers increasingly expect digital, flexible payment options that don’t slow down pickup or create unnecessary back‑and‑forth. At the same time, dealership teams are looking for ways to modernize their payment workflow with features like Apple and Google pay options and the ability to recover credit card surcharges. 

More streamlined payment experiences and deeper system integrations can help address both sides of that equation, creating a smoother experience for customers while supporting efficiency in the service department.

Looking Ahead: Less Friction, More Focus

Across every topic discussed in the Fixed Ops Focus webinar, one idea stood out: the future of fixed ops is about making things easier—for customers, advisors, technicians, and managers alike. 

As technology continues to evolve, dealerships are prioritizing solutions that: 

• Reduce unnecessary steps
• Improve clarity and communication
• Support smarter decision-making
• Strengthen long‑term customer relationships

Xtime’s ongoing focus remains on helping dealerships adapt to these changes with tools and workflows designed for today’s service lane while keeping an eye on what’s coming next. Our suite of solutions is built around four core capabilities that work together to meet those demands: 

• Schedule – Give customers the flexibility to book appointments on their terms, any time. 
• Engage – Deliver a fast, seamless check‑in experience that sets the tone for the entire visit.
• Inspect – Use multimedia and real‑time insights to clearly communicate vehicle needs and build trust.
• Invite – Drive demand with targeted, multi‑channel outreach that brings customers back to the service lane.

When these solutions are connected, you can deliver a consistent, customer‑centric experience from appointment scheduling through payment—without adding complexity for your staff.

Want to know more? 

Talk to your sales rep or take a self-guided demo to see how Xtime solutions work together to keep your fixed ops ahead of the competition. 

Summary:

• Post‑NADA 2026, dealers are moving past AI hype to focus on execution and tightening appraisals, accelerating acquisition, and sourcing more vehicles. 
• Top acquisition strategies prioritize early signals: connected systems, photo‑backed appraisals, and consistent follow‑up to reduce friction and re‑work.
• Kelley Blue Book^® Instant Cash Offer helps dealers put these strategies into action with data‑driven workflows and emerging AI capabilities that strengthen valuation confidence. 

---

Dealers didn’t come to NADA 2026 for hype—they came for what to do next when they got back to work. Whether you made it to Las Vegas or were busy holding down the fort at the dealership, one thing is clear: you need more cars! It’s time to talk about your acquisition strategy and the tools and technology that tighten appraisals and reduce friction across every channel. Read below for your  post‑show action plan, the AI realities behind it, and the inventory plays dealers are talking about. 

Your 30-Day Post-NADA Action Plan

Below are the steps you can take in the next 30 days to tighten appraisals, strengthen acquisition, and reduce friction across every channel. 

These seven steps reflect what the Kelley Blue Book^® Instant Cash Offer team learned from winning dealerships, and the big takeaways for teams ready to operationalize back home. 

1. Bring affordability into the conversation early, clearly, and confidently. 

Affordability is now the priority. It shapes every acquisition conversation. With payments hovering around $740–$750¹ and roughly 1 in 5 buyers paying $1,000+², shoppers are doing math constantly. Bottom line: they need your help. Dealers who lead with transparent valuation factors, set expectations with real data, and invite a counteroffer when appropriate will keep deals moving even when negative equity threatens momentum. This isn’t about selling harder. It’s about framing numbers in a way that builds trust. 

2. Track only the KPIs that matter and review them weekly. 

Effective acquisition strategies don’t rely on more metrics. They rely on the right ones, reviewed consistently. High‑performing teams focus on a tight KPI set that shows both appraisal health and sourcing efficiency: look‑to‑book, appraisal cycle time, percentage of photo‑backed offers, units sourced from service, and overall cost‑to‑market. 

Just as important is understanding how each sourcing channel is performing within your broader acquisition mix. Tracking volume alone isn’t enough; dealers need visibility into cost per acquired unit, conversion rates by channel, and time‑to‑sale to assess true ROI. Reviewing these KPIs weekly helps identify which channels are pulling their weight, which need refinement, and where rebalancing your channel blend could unlock better results. 

Rather than focusing on perfection, aim for momentum. A disciplined, data‑driven view of both performance and channel contribution allows your team to make proactive adjustments, double down on what’s working, and build a resilient acquisition strategy that performs in any market.

3.  Align with solution partners that optimize the consumer experience

As consumer expectations continue to rise, acquisition strategies are only as strong as the experiences that support them. Dealers are increasingly prioritizing solution partners that simplify the selling journey for consumers while also reducing friction for internal teams. When tools are designed around how consumers actually engage — across devices, channels, and timelines — participation increases and satisfaction improves. 

The right partners help remove unnecessary steps, align valuation logic across touchpoints, and create a consistent omnichannel experience from first interaction through appraisal and follow‑up. This alignment not only builds consumer confidence, but it also gives dealership teams cleaner inputs, clearer signals, and fewer hand‑offs that introduce errors. By investing in solutions that are purpose‑built to work together, dealers can improve engagement without adding complexity — and create acquisition experiences that scale as expectations continue to evolve.

4. Extend your follow‑up well beyond Day 30. 

Winning more acquisition opportunities requires aligning follow‑up with real consumer timelines, not arbitrary cutoffs.   While 56% of Kelley Blue Book^® Instant Cash Offer users sell within the first three weeks³, many others take significantly longer to transact, leaving a well-documented “47‑day gap” where offers and opportunities quietly age out. Building longer, automated follow‑up cadences (60–90 days) can instantly put you ahead of competitors who simply stop too soon. 

5. Treat the service drive like the sourcing channel it is.

For dealers focused on building a more resilient acquisition strategy,  the service drive continues to be one of the most effective, yet underutilized, sourcing channels. Stores that integrate appraisal prompts into the service experience are consistently sourcing vehicles directly from loyal customers who already trust their team and are physically on-site. By introducing the opportunity for a service customer to “raise their hand” and request a valuation while their vehicle will be in for service, dealers can acquire more local, lower-cost inventory without competing in external marketplaces or adding operational complexity.

6. Connect the dots across your retail systems. 

The biggest efficiency gains today come from connected systems. When your marketplace signals, appraisal workflows, CRM stages, and service-lane prompts are connected, your team moves faster and makes fewer errors. This is where assistive AI shines: it helps teams act earlier, prioritize better, and avoid redundant tasks because the system already knows what happened upstream. A quick internal audit of “where we retype information” or “where statuses don’t match” can unlock surprising time savings.

7. Capture condition earlier, and visually

Reducing appraisal friction starts with better condition signals earlier in the process. When sellers share photos upfront, your team can anchor valuations in real-world vehicle condition instead of assumptions. When photos are collected early, downstream decisions become faster and more consistent, reducing re‑work, re‑appraisals, and friction at the point of transaction. This approach is already taking shape with emerging capabilities like AI Remote Damage Assessment within  Kelley Blue Book^® Instant Cash Offer,  which uses seller-submitted photos to identify exterior damage and set expectations sooner. It’s a small step that pays off in tighter valuations and fewer re‑appraisals later.

It’s time to put your acquisition strategy into motion

Dealers that consistently win inventory are doing a few things differently: they act earlier, rely on connected data, and remove friction wherever possible. Assistive AI plays a role, but the real advantage comes from aligning people, processes, and systems around a clear acquisition strategy. When information flows cleanly across appraisal, CRM, and service workflows, teams spend less time managing exceptions and more time moving deals forward with confidence. 

This plan is designed to help dealers take control of what they can — tightening appraisals, improving engagement, and scaling smarter acquisition practices without adding lift. The result is a strategy that works not just today, but as expectations, technology, and market conditions continue to change. 

If NADA 2026 proved anything, it’s that dealers are ready to prioritize their acquisition strategy. The seven steps in this action plan aren’t heavy lifts; they’re momentum builders. 

Ready to take the next step?

See how Kelley Blue Book^® Instant Cash Offer and new AI-driven tools expand your sourcing pipeline and accelerate growth with your personal, self-driven demo here:

1. Experian Information Solutions, 3^rd quarter 2025 (Car Payments) 

2. Edmunds 

3. Source: 2024 KBB ICO Transactions   

Car shoppers don’t start their journey when they walk into your car dealership. Long before a lead hits your CRM, they’ve already explored options, compared prices, and built expectations through digital research.

Behavioral data gives your team the context behind those choices — and when paired with your instincts, it removes friction and opens more doors. It’s not intuition or technology. Its intuition powered by better information.

Beyond the Showroom

The buying journey has moved upstream.

Shoppers aren’t waiting to talk; they’re forming opinions earlier and faster than ever.

Recent Cox Automotive research shows:

87% start online

72% say personalization matters just as much as price

So, it’s worth asking: Is your process keeping pace with how shoppers decide today?

From Data to Direction

Dealerships collect plenty of data. But too often, it sits unused. Without a way to connect the dots, teams default to generic outreach, mistimed follow-ups, and conversations that don’t match what the shopper needs.

When data becomes direction, though, everything changes. You see the signals. You act while your shopper is engaged. You remove the back-and-forth that slows deals down.

Instead of reacting after momentum fades, your team moves in the moment that matters.

The Real Shift: From Reactive to Predictive

AI works best as a heads-up display, surfacing what matters so your team can look ahead, not backward, always checking the rearview mirror.

With real-time and behavioral insight, your team can:

• Spot shopper intent before they raise their hand
• Personalize experiences with purpose
• Reduce friction throughout the deal
• Build confidence backed by clarity

AI doesn’t replace your expertise; it simply removes the barriers that keep your expertise from shining through.

One Deal. One Story. One Connected Experience.

Shoppers move fast. Your deal experience should too. Deal Central from Cox Automotive brings sales teams, managers, and shoppers together around a single source of truth: eliminating the disconnect that often kills deals.

• Sales View: Collaborate with shoppers in real time, whether the deal happens online, in the showroom, or somewhere in between.
• Manager View: Finalize deals faster with real-time structures, approvals, and shopper signals.
• Deal Pulse: See AI-driven insights that reveal the deal a shopper is most likely to accept.

When everyone is aligned around the same data and insights, deals move forward, faster.

When Timing Aligns, Everything Clicks

The best buying experiences feel natural. When conversations reflect the work shoppers have already done online, trust builds. Decisions feel easier. And deal paths become smoother.

Deal Central creates continuity. By uniting shopper behavior, AI-driven insight, and dealership expertise into a single, connected deal experience, you meet shoppers where they are and more deals come together.

You Can’t Afford to Wait for “Someday”

The future of automotive retail is already unfolding now—in your current pipeline of potential customers. Empower your people with tools that turn data into insights and give your customers a better experience.

Ready to see Deal Central in action? Experience how AI-powered insights can turn your data into more deals.

Most dealerships collect data—few turn it into direction teams can use. See how activating behavioral and real-time insight helps you move upstream in the buyer journey, predict next best actions, personalize at the right moment, and reduce friction so deals move forward faster.