20 Jul 2017 Aston Barclay Launches New Buyer App
The Aston Barclay group has started the digital revolution of the remarketing industry with the launch of its new Buyer App now free to download from the App store in both Android and IOS format.
The App has been developed to meet the increasing needs of buyers who run their businesses on their smart phones, making it easier for them to connect to used stock.
Phase two will see the Buyer App detecting buyers walking into an auction and pinging them a message about relevant stock coming in that day’s sale. It will also identify buying patterns and flag up similar stock at sales across the group.
Buyers will also have live access to video and audio and the ability to search stock by colour and fuel grade as well as have access to each car’s Aston Barclay and NAMA condition grades.
Buyers research running up to the recent acquisition said Apps were key to helping them find the right stock more easily, which has been reinforced by the group’s web traffic via mobile devices growing to 48.7% in June 2017, 69.2% via an Apple product.
Stewart Barclay, Aston Barclay’s IT director, said: “Surveying our buyers they said an App that could help speed up their connectivity with relevant stock would be incredibly useful. The App will also enable buyers and sellers to engage via their mobile devices.
Stewart added: “Our Vendor App is set for launch in December and will enable vendors to target buyers with video message offers and promotions. We believe it’s the first time a physical auction business has hooked up buyers and vendors in this way, while supporting local customers that just want to turn up and buy cars.”
Commenting on the launch, CEO, Neil Hodson added: “We have bridged the gap between the physical auction and the mobile space; connecting our buyers and sellers like never before and helping them to source and sell more vehicles, more effectively. Aston Barclay is driving the future of the remarketing industry with leading technology and by building unique and exceptional customer journeys through every part of our business.”
Aston Barclay’s digital initiatives are being extended across all physical sites with mega screens being installed to show the sale’s running order as well as providing exposure for vendor branding and buyer offers and incentives.
Digital pods are being installed in the auction halls, the first in July in Westbury, to enable buyers to search for stock from across the group and to check on provisional bids.
To maximise the technology buy-in ‘digital eagles’ are being appointed at each branch to work with buyers on how best to use the App.
Aston Barclay’s digital journey started back in 2015 when it launched its own Cloud based Single Core Auction Management system, which has speeded up the current App launch programme.