I feel like automotive digital retailing failed because consumer expectations were significantly higher than what dealers were willing to offer. Go on any car buying forum and you'll see people complaining that they can't buy a Honda Civic like they can a Tesla. Newer consumers want to order a car off Amazon, not walk in a dealership. Dealerships liked the idea of DR but never went 'full Tesla'. I would view this as potentially less of a tech issue and more of a cultural/CX issue. There are some decent DR tools but most dealers want to put them behind a form fill, not deliver the car, and don't offer docusign to complete the transaction wirelessly. To me this is ultimately a CX issue and not a tech issue from the DR side. Try finding a new specific car on Autotrader. 50% are stock photos. Lots of people looking at clicks but no one looking at CX. Vendors need disruption for sure, been a cash grab for years. Value from 3rd parties is getting worse and worse, etc.
