AutoTalker launches digital vehicle pricing for dealers

AutoTalker has launched a digital vehicle pricing platform for dealerships, designed to link live dealership data with showroom and forecourt displays.

The launch targets a part of the sales process that often still relies on paper windscreen cards and manual updates when prices, finance offers or vehicle details change. The platform synchronises pricing and vehicle information from dealership systems to digital displays, allowing staff to update content centrally.

Research cited by AutoTalker suggests physical dealerships remain central to car buying in the UK despite wider investment in digital retail tools. A study from Motor Trade News found that 72% of car buyers still prefer to complete their purchase at a dealership, while YouGov research found that 52% are more likely to buy from a dealership if pricing is transparent and 42% expect pricing to match between online listings and the forecourt.

The gap between digital systems and physical merchandising has become more visible as dealers expand their use of online sales tools and internal software. AutoTalker said 84% of dealerships now use some form of digital retail technology, yet many still update showroom pricing and promotional displays by hand.

The company was founded by Andrew Wood, who spent more than 25 years in the automotive sector before developing the product. He said the aim was not simply to replace paper displays with screens, but to connect pricing, finance messaging and customer information to the systems dealerships already use.

"Dealerships have invested significantly in digital retailing, websites and Dealer Management Systems, but the vehicle on the forecourt has often remained disconnected from those systems," said Andrew Wood, Founder and CEO of AutoTalker.

"The challenge was not just creating a digital price display. It was building a platform that connected live vehicle data, pricing, finance messaging and customer information in a way that fitted how automotive retailers actually operate," Wood said.

Showroom link

AutoTalker said its software was built specifically for automotive retail rather than adapted from electronic shelf-labelling systems used in supermarkets and other shops. The platform combines digital price displays, management software and mobile tools to control vehicle pricing, specifications, finance content, promotional material and QR codes from one system.

The system includes integration with Dealer Management Systems, registration-based vehicle linking, automatic sold and reserved messaging, and management functions for dealer groups with more than one site. These features are intended to reduce the administrative work involved in changing pricing and status information across multiple vehicles and locations.

One recent rollout involved more than 100 digital vehicle pricing displays across two sites operated by an established franchised dealership group, according to AutoTalker. The installation replaced traditional paper price cards with branded digital displays managed through a central platform.

In that deployment, the displays included customer QR codes and shared management across both locations, allowing updates to be made instantly. The first dealership moved to digital pricing in one day after a half-day training session, while the second site was later configured by the dealership team itself, AutoTalker said.

Buyer behaviour

The use of QR codes on vehicle displays reflects a wider effort by dealerships to blend in-person browsing with digital enquiry tools. AutoTalker said customers can use the displays to access vehicle information, book test drives and submit enquiries directly from the forecourt.

For dealers, the commercial issue is less about adding another digital screen than keeping data consistent across sales channels. If online listings, printed material and forecourt pricing do not match, retailers risk creating confusion for buyers and creating more work for staff.

That consistency matters as buyers move between online research and in-person visits before making a purchase. Dealers have invested heavily in websites, finance calculators and digital retail platforms, but the physical display around the vehicle often remains one of the last manual points in the sales process.

AutoTalker said its platform can be used by car, commercial vehicle and leisure vehicle dealerships. It is intended to work alongside existing dealer software and operating processes rather than replace them.

The broader trend suggests dealerships are trying to modernise the showroom without abandoning the branch network many buyers still prefer. In that environment, transparent pricing and accurate vehicle information on the forecourt have become a more direct part of the sales proposition.

Recent deployments suggest connected digital merchandising can be introduced across both large retail sites and multi-site dealership groups while keeping pricing aligned with online listings and dealership systems.