The Car As A Commerce Platform?

German payments group Concardis announced a new partnership with automotive developer IAV to establish a car-based commerce platform called Automotive Marketplace.

The new platform will be officially unveiled this week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2017 in Las Vegas.

In a press release, Concardis CEO Marcus Mosen said that while the product is still in the early pilot phase, it demonstrates a push to use commerce functionality to help transform the traditional automobile experience.

“The goal of our digital marketplace is to make time spent driving more productive – by arranging and making purchases at local shops without having to go out of your way, lose time or pull your wallet out,” Mosen noted.

The Automotive Marketplace can be seen first-hand in a demo vehicle by visitors to the CES at a joint stand of Concardis and IAV. The system has the ability to compare the shopping lists that a driver has saved online to the shops and merchants along the route being driven on. It will then inform the driver if there are any matches, while also enabling the driver to add new items to a list using voice-activated features. The route can then be automatically adjusted based on the nearest merchant(s) that may carry the desired item(s).

The integrated payment function allows the driver to conduct a transaction before even arriving to the retail location or store, drastically reducing pickup and wait times. As Mosen explained, the Automotive Marketplace system delivers a safe, legal and intuitive way to shop while driving.

“Our solution combines the digital marketplace with the physical one. We bring the POS into the customer’s car, thus making the car a personal mobile shop, a wallet and an identification card to confirm your identity when making pickups. There has never been a system like this before,” Mosen added.