On June 8, 2021, Reynolds and Reynolds acquired Gubagoo.
At the time, the move made perfect sense. Gubagoo brought chat functionality, digital retailing, and online shopper engagement into the Reynolds ecosystem. Dealers gained new ways to connect with customers before they ever stepped foot in a showroom.
Five years later, the acquisition looks even more significant because of how accurately it reflected where automotive retail was headed. Customer expectations were changing, online research was becoming the norm, and dealerships were beginning to pay closer attention to how shoppers move through the buying process. The acquisition was a recognition that these trends would only accelerate.
The Customer Journey Moved Online
Even before digital retailing became a major industry focus, the customer journey had already started to change.
For many shoppers, the dealership website is the first stop on their journey, not the showroom. And buyers were investing significant time into the online process:
The majority of dealership customers spend 3 to 15+ hours researching online before making a purchase
By the time a customer visits a dealership, they’ve already compared vehicles, evaluated pricing, and calculated payments. Key decisions have already been made long before they’ve stepped foot on the lot.
A Seamless Experience Is Key
The digital showroom plays a huge part in making a great first impression with your customer. It’s convenient, it’s quick, and it’s a great way for someone to get comfortable before committing to a dealership visit.
Many assumed the future of automotive retail would move online, like many other industries. But the data suggested a major problem. The Reynolds study found that online buying satisfaction for automotive retail averaged a 5.5 out of 10. And when it comes to completing the purchase, only 16% of buyers reported buying the vehicle entirely online. Even among that 16%, the vast majority still reported visiting the dealership at some point.
Customers need the convenience of researching and comparing online, but they still appreciate the confidence, guidance, and personal interactions that comes with visiting a dealership.
The biggest challenge that dealerships are still facing is creating a perfectly seamless experience between online and in-store interactions.
A customer doesn’t want to see one price online, only to visit the dealership and encounter a different price, different payment, or a process that makes them start over from the beginning.
Reynolds Saw the Opportunity
That gap between online and in-store created a new challenge for dealerships — and a new opportunity.
Dealership websites could attract shoppers. But they often lacked the ability to engage shoppers in meaningful ways. Conversations stalled, shoppers were lost, and in-store visits lacked a lot of the context that an otherwise connected system could have offered.
Customers were doing the work online, but dealerships weren’t always able to meet them where they were.
Seen through that lens, the acquisition of Gubagoo was about extending the dealership experience to every stage of the customer journey and creating continuity between online and in-store interactions.
By bringing Chat’s online engagement and Virtual Retailing’s showroom into the Reynolds ecosystem, dealerships gained more opportunities to connect with shoppers when their interest was at their highest, and maintain that momentum throughout the buying process, wherever they were.
The Dealership Experience Starts Online
Five years ago, Reynolds recognized that the dealership experience was beginning to shift.
The acquisition of Gubagoo reflected a simple idea: treat your virtual showroom with the same care you would with your physical showroom and offer a connected experience. Customers shouldn't have to start over every time they move from one stage of the buying journey to the next. Whether they're researching inventory online, chatting with a dealership, exploring payment options, or visiting the showroom, everything needs to be connected.
Five years later, that expectation has become the standard.
Today, the distinction between online and in-store matters less than ever, because customers simply expect one continuous journey from the first click to the final handshake.