Digital retailing lets shoppers configure payments, value a trade, get financing, and start (or complete) a deal online, then hand a structured deal to the store. The best platform for you depends on how far into the purchase you want customers to go online. This guide covers the leading options.
🏆 Top Picks
1
AutoFi$$$
Best for: Dealers wanting a unified online and in-store sales platform
End-to-end deal platform covering online and showroom, from deal structuring through the F&I handoff, with strong lender integration.
2
Darwin Automotive Digital Retail$$
Best for: Dealers wanting retailing tied to F&I menu selling
Omnichannel retailing linked to Darwin's F&I menu, so protection products carry from online into the showroom.
3
Dealer Inspire Online Shopper (Cars Commerce)$$$
Best for: Dealers on Dealer Inspire websites
Native digital retailing built into Dealer Inspire websites, giving a smooth path from browsing to a started deal.
4
CarNow$$
Best for: Dealers wanting real-time conversational retailing
Combines messaging and digital retailing so shoppers can negotiate payments and progress a deal in a live conversation.
5
Roadster / CDK Global Digital Retail$$$
Best for: Dealers in the CDK ecosystem
CDK's digital retail offering (built on the former Roadster platform) aimed at connecting online shopping with CDK's DMS.
6
Upstart / Prodigy and similar$$
Best for: Dealers exploring newer end-to-end options
Newer entrants offering online-to-in-store deal flows and financing integration; evaluate current OEM and lender support before committing.
📊 Quick Comparison
Vendor
Best for
Depth
AutoFi
Unified online + store
End-to-end deal
Darwin Digital Retail
Retail + F&I menu
Retail + protection
DI Online Shopper
Dealer Inspire sites
Website-native
CarNow
Conversational retail
Chat + payments
CDK / Roadster
CDK ecosystem
DMS-connected
Newer entrants
Exploring end-to-end
Varies
What digital retailing actually delivers
At minimum, digital retailing shows real payments with taxes and fees, lets shoppers value a trade, and captures a soft-credit or financing step. Full platforms can complete the entire deal, including F&I products and e-signing.
The realistic goal for most stores is a faster, more transparent start to the deal that shortens time in the showroom, not fully unattended online purchases.
Payments, credit, and trade
Accurate payment calculation (with real rates, taxes, and fees) is what separates a serious platform from a payment toy. Soft-pull prescreen lets shoppers see personalized terms without a hard inquiry.
Integrated trade valuation keeps the shopper in your funnel rather than bouncing to a third-party site.
In-store and online continuity
The best experiences let a customer start online and finish in the store (or vice versa) without redoing work. The deal a shopper builds online should appear on the desk, not force a restart.
This continuity depends on tight integration between the retailing tool, your CRM, desking, and F&I stack.
Choosing a platform
Decide how much of the deal you want online, then match the tool. Some dealers want a lead-generating payment calculator; others want end-to-end e-commerce.
Confirm lender and F&I integration, CRM handoff, and whether the tool works both on your website and on the showroom floor.
Decide how far online you want deals to go
Demand accurate payments with real taxes and fees
Require seamless online-to-showroom continuity
Confirm lender, F&I, and CRM integration
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❓ FAQ
Does digital retailing replace salespeople?
No. For most dealers it front-loads the deal so shoppers arrive informed and further along, shortening the showroom visit. Full unattended online purchases remain a small share of volume.
What is the difference between a payment calculator and digital retailing?
A calculator shows an estimated payment. Digital retailing uses real rates, taxes, fees, trade value, and often a soft-credit step to build an accurate, actionable deal the store can honor.
Does digital retailing lower gross?
Not inherently. Transparency can compress some line items, but faster deals, higher close rates, and F&I products presented online often offset it. Structure and process matter more than the tool alone.
How does it connect to my F&I office?
Good platforms pass the structured deal, including any F&I products the customer viewed, directly to desking and the finance office so nothing is re-keyed and the customer is not re-sold from scratch.
Do I need digital retailing if I already have a good website?
Increasingly yes. A website shows inventory; digital retailing lets shoppers act on it. The two work together, and many website platforms now include or integrate a retailing layer.
Should the same deal work online and in the showroom?
Yes. The biggest value is continuity: a customer should be able to start online and finish in store without redoing the deal. Test this handoff during any demo.