PLANO, Texas -

Helping auto dealers overcome the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, CarOffer has introduced a new feature to bring automation and efficiency to marketing and selling vehicles.

That brings increased productivity to stores that might be closed or to dealerships working with limited staff.

CarOffer, a wholesale vehicle trade platform, said it is offering the new consumer vehicle acquisition channel for free for its dealer partners.

The company says the new Consumer Buying feature can help dealers reduce overhead, drive traffic and generate sales.

The Consumer Buying feature automates the delivery of co-branded invitations to eligible upgrade candidates in service drives and in a dealer's database.

Dealers can also use the functionality on their websites. That allows consumers to get instant offers for their vehicles.

Once a consumer accepts an offer, the dealer partner can keep the vehicle or wholesale it on the CarOffer trade platform.

The feature also includes graphic design, marketing, data management and eligibility profiling with full DMS and CRM integrations.

The Consumer Buying feature is available for free to dealers during the pandemic, and after that, the company will determine performance-based pricing. CarOffer said it does not use a subscription-based model for any of its products, and during the crisis, the company will continue introducing new features and applications ahead of schedule.

“The Consumer Buying solution is a product we planned on introducing later this year but given the unprecedented crisis COVID-19 has inflicted on our industry, we felt strongly that dealers need it now,” CarOffer chief executive officer and founder Bruce Thompson said in a news release.

Thompson continued, “We want to help dealers drive incremental sales right now during this difficult environment. We’ll allow dealers to use the tool free of charge until we get this crisis behind us. Looking ahead, there will be uncertainty and volatility in auction lanes across the country as regions begin to lift restrictions. We are leveraging all of our solutions and capabilities to help dealers succeed and be prepared for the post-pandemic market.”

CarOffer also said it was making training and implementation a priority for more than 900 dealers in its installation queue that want to use this time on strategizing for the post-crisis market.