J.D. Power wants a vehicle shopper to do more on the dealership’s website or the automaker’s online presence than just peruse through a vehicle’s photo gallery or review the model’s technology specifications.

Last week, J.D. Power rolled out what the data analytics and consumer intelligence provider is calling Shop With Ease, which is designed to be a complete Digital Retailing as a Service (DRaaS) platform that allows manufacturers, dealerships, finance companies and shoppers the ability to search, purchase and finance vehicles without having to leave the dealer’s or manufacturer’s website.

J.D. Power Shop With Ease, powered by the Darwin Automotive division of J.D. Power, contains a suite of tools meant to empower consumers during their shopping experience.

The DraaS-based platform of J.D. Power Shop With Ease is designed to help OEMs, banks, credit unions and others to design a custom solution using services such as:

• Payment calculations for all 50 states including fees, taxes, incentives, rates and residuals

• F&I products and marketing using prescriptive selling that’s driven by patented predictive analytics

• Reservation system for in stock and inbound vehicles

• Stand-alone trade-in service and vehicle acquisition tool

• A shop-by-payment functionality for the entire vehicle inventory with penny-perfect payments that match the dealer management system for thousands of vehicles

• Instant trade payoffs for 261 finance companies and credit unions

• Buy now electronic contracting with full sign-and-drive capabilities

• Technology-enabled data (TED), the industry's first fully enabled hyper-targeted intelligent marketing

By putting buyers at the center of a highly customized, multi-channel purchase experience, J.D. Power said that Shop With Ease can enable OEMs, dealers, finance companies and shoppers to have more transparent and accurately priced shopping experiences while delivering world-class customer service.

“Innovation from the combination of Darwin Automotive’s industry-leading software and consumer insights from one of the most recognized consumer brands, J.D. Power, has created an empowered automotive shopping experience,” said Phillip Battista, president of dealership technologies at J.D. Power.

“Powered by the data and analytics of J.D. Power, this technology is an industry game-changer. Digital Retailing as a Service is the next evolution that our industry needs — and we are the first to offer this suite of solutions.”