ATLANTA -

AutoTrader.com and Contact At Once partnered Tuesday to deliver chat functionality to dealers who list their vehicles for sale on the site. 

The dealer live chat feature is a part of AutoTrader.com’s Connections Bundle, which is intended to provide dealers with multiple avenues to build and foster relationships with shoppers online. That Connections Bundle also includes dealer ratings, social media connections and Sitelink Advanced.

Officials believe the integration of chat capability through chat software provider www.autodealerchat.com can enable dealers to instantly connect with prospects via text-based conversations online and boost the bundle’s overall value. 

After an extensive search and testing process, AutoTrader.com explained that it selected Contact At Once to power the dealer live chat solution because of “Contact At Once’s position as a leader in the space and ability to deliver a best-in-class chat experience for both dealers and consumers.”

Officials highlighted the chat window can display the name and photo of actual dealership employees, a feature meant to improve the consumer experience. They believe this function has been shown to increase the number of chat inquiries dealerships receive.

AutoTrader.com pointed out the dealer live chat solution is also presence-aware so consumers will only be prompted to initiate a chat session if a representative is available, “ensuring that consumers are never left hanging.”

Additionally, the Contact At Once dealer live chat solution can enable dealers to conduct chats via their iPads, smartphones or other mobile devices.

“Dealers can be responsive to consumer inquiries even when they’re not at their desks,” the companies stressed.

According to the recent Automotive Buyer Influence Study conducted by Polk and AutoTrader.com, consumers spend 18 to 19 hours shopping for a vehicles before they make a purchase with approximately 60 percent of that time spent online.

However, the study found consumers have shown a reluctance to pick up the phone to call dealers during their search and have long been dissatisfied with e-mail response times, leading 70 percent to just walk into a dealership without first making contact.

“Faster than e-mail and more convenient than a phone call, online chat enables consumers to get instant answers to their questions while enabling dealers to begin creating a relationship with shoppers before they show up on the lot,” explained AutoTrader.com president and chief executive officer Chip Perry.

“We are pleased with the performance of the Contact At Once dealer live chat platform and excited about the value it has already brought both dealers and consumers,” Perry added.

Early value tests conducted by AutoTrader.com showed that dealers who added dealer live chat to their listings experienced an average lift in shopper interaction of about 20 percent.

“AutoTrader.com’s embrace affirms the mainstream status of dealer live chat software and signals a new reality — that dealers not using chat are missing sales opportunities,” stated John Hanger, president and CEO of Contact At Once.

“We are honored to have been selected and look forward to working with AutoTrader.com to connect dealers and consumers,” Hanger added.

Dealers who are interested in learning more about the Connections Bundle should talk to their AutoTrader.com advertising consultants.