ATLANTA – Fueled by a commitment to deliver safer, more efficient auction experiences for clients, Manheim recently converted Manheim Flint and Manheim Houston to all-digital formats, bringing the total to three. With a live digital format, vehicles remain parked in designated spots and are offered for sale digitally by an auctioneer via oversized monitors featuring enhanced images, barcode price scanning capability and condition report information. In 2019, Manheim saw more than 150,000 unique monthly visitors to its digital channels, grew its digital lanes to 150 and sold over 2.3 million vehicles to digital buyers—nearly half of Manheim’s total.
The success of these early-adopting locations is testimony that our digital strategy is on the right track to meeting the evolving needs of our clients when and where they want to conduct business.
Manheim Flint began running two all-digital lanes in January. Since the change, the site has seen a rise in both buyer attendance and sales conversion. “Flint dealers have been telling us that they support Manheim’s efforts to create a safer auction experience for them and our employees,” said Mandy Savage, vice president and general manager of Manheim Flint and Manheim Detroit.
Manheim Houston’s eight lane inaugural sale was held on February 25. It had more than 903 online and in-lane bidders, with just under one-half of the 982+ cars offered for sale being sold. In addition, the site attracted the highest-ever Simulcast attendance, with 63 percent of participants bidding online and 37 percent in-lane. While more dealer transactions are being conducted digitally, the company sees its physical sites continuing to play a key role in its digital strategy.
“As Manheim Houston’s average vehicle price is $13,500, an ideal offering for Simulcast, we felt our site was in a great position to increase digital sales, and we did,” said Brian Walker, general manager of Manheim Houston. In addition, at this first digital block sale, our vehicles brought the highest values when compared to MMR of any week this year.”
Andy Garza from Tricolor Auto Group added, “We love the new format as it allows us to get more proxy bids in before the sale.”
As Manheim Tucson approaches its one-year anniversary, Simulcast usage there continues to climb, fleet sales are experiencing double-digit growth and client retention remains strong, with dealers embracing the digital auction experience:
“Our strong conversion ratio has increased with our digital online results, coupled with the benefits of no lost keys or vehicle tampering, makes our decision to participate in Manheim Tucson’s digital sale a win-win for us,” said Lobel Financial Remarketing Manager Sheila Tedesco.
“Participating in Manheim Tucson’s all-digital format has been a great move for our dealership group,” said Sam Khayat, Chief Operating Officer for Jim Click Automotive Team. “Not only did we gain efficiencies through the use of innovative technologies, but we also reaped the benefits of safety for all parties, convenience for our dealers and significant time savings.”
In addition to these three all-digital auction sites, Manheim also has been adopting digital lanes at other auction locations across the U.S. The most recent is Manheim New England, which went fully digital for its Thursday night dealer sale beginning last fall. This location offers up to 500 units each week from its two digital lanes in addition to its traditional in-lane sale on Tuesdays.
“The success of these early-adopting locations is testimony that our digital strategy is on the right track to meeting the evolving needs of our clients when and where they want to conduct business,” said Manheim President Grace Huang. “As we continue to accelerate the transition to digital, our key focus in 2020 remains safety, making our operations more efficient and providing the best in-lane and digital client experience.”
