the-rise-of-the-automotive-concierge-economy

The Rise of the Automotive Concierge Economy

The past 10 years have been characterized by the rise of the concierge economy, spanning from hotels to financial services to fitness. With 24/7 digital information and services available on-demand, the consumer experience is going through a major shift. Instead of having to shape our personal schedule according to our service providers, often requiring face to face communication, we can choose when and how to interact and eventually transact. Moreover, we can research options and purchase through our screens, which have basically become a fifth limb to us.

For example, in the past, making a reservation at a hotel required calling up the hotel or going to a travel agency during their available hours. Hotels were recommended by people you knew or advertisements. Payment took place at the reception desk. Nowadays, any traveler or business person can compare amenities and prices online, read mass reviews, and even choose if they want to stay at a hotel, or a more homely-feeling residence (AirBNB).

Driving the Automotive Industry to the Concierge Economy

The automotive industry has taken its first steps into the concierge economy. Most of the prevailing offers revolve around joint ride-sharing possibilities, or taxis on-demand, like Uber or Lyft. Additional services, like on-demand delivery services, or on-demand washing services, are beginning to appear.

Drivers are no different than consumers who are sitting in their homes. In fact, they are the same consumers who book hotels through booking.com and use Siri or Alexa. As their expectations are changing, they will soon demand driver services delivered to them through their app, while on the go. Just like they no longer want to physically go to the travel agency, they will no longer want to physically go to the garage, or to the gas station, or even to pick up groceries.

Until now, creating driver concierge services was difficult due to lack of connectivity and access to car data. But with the growth of connected cars on the road (255M by the end of 2020 according to Gartner) and the rise of electric vehicles, there are terabytes of data being transmitted from vehicles every day. This automotive data can be used to develop driver services, both through the information available through the data, and the newly available remote functions, like unlocking the vehicle or opening the trunk (with the right authorization of course).

5 Concierge Driver Services that Can Revolutionize the Ownership and Driving Experience for Drivers

Last year, we conducted a connected consumer survey with Edison Research where we talked to connected car owners about data, services and privacy.  We learned that as many as 94% expressed interest in apps and services. Approximately 80% of those who expressed interested in a number of potential new services (including real-time alerts of dangerous driving conditions, early detection of maintenance and repairs, and even faster response times from emergency responders in the event of an accident) stated a willingness to share personal automotive data in order to gain access to these capabilities.

Here are a few examples of disrupting concierge driver services that could significantly improve drivers’ quality of life and quality of driving. We expect to see more as connectivity and ability to seamlessly build services for connected car increases.

1. Safety and Emergency Services

Car data can inform the car’s location, driver behavior like hard braking, and the status of its different parts, like the engine and the doors. These can indicate a car accident. In case a crash that requires emergency services is detected through this data, emergency first responders can be automatically and quickly alerted about the accident. Thus, they are able to quickly arrive at the scene to save lives, without anyone having to call them through an emergency number like 911.

In addition, car data can specify which parts of the car were hit, providing doctors and first-aid providers with insights about the mechanism of injury (type and severity of the injuries) and how to help drivers and passengers who were wounded. Read more from this research by the University of California.

2. Trunk Delivery – From Packages to Groceries

In-car delivery services enable consumers to receive packages, groceries and other deliverable product, to the car’s trunk, without requiring the driver to clear her or his schedule and physically drive to the post office or supermarket. Packages are ordered online and received without the driver having to be present, while ensuring peace of mind, and most importantly: convenience!

According to our consumer survey, 44% of American drivers expressed interest in an app that allows deliveries to their vehicle’s trunk. Therefore, startups and companies that choose to innovate in these areas, will encounter a market that is waiting for them.

3. On-demand Fueling and Charging

Mobile fueling services can bring fuel or electricity directly to a parked vehicle. Drivers can choose to get an alert when their tank or battery gets to a certain level, and then automatically call an on-demand fueler for their gasoline-based car or charger for their electric vehicle. The next phase will be the car alerting the service if the driver opts in.

Through subscription-based services, fuelers can anticipate the needs of vehicle services, by analyzing car location and gas level. This keeps the driver on the road instead of waiting at the pump and reduces vehicle mileage.

4. Roadside Assistance

When a broken down-car requires professional servicing, automotive data can reduce the need to tow it to a garage. By remotely analyzing car data attributes, roadside assistance services can determine what is needed, be it battery charging, gas filling, changing a flat tire or something else. Then, they can provide remote assistance to the driver, or repair on the spot without towing the vehicle to a garage. Read more from the blog post How Car Data Improves Roadside Assistance”.

5. Washing Services

On-demand car-washing eliminates the driver’s need to physically drive up to a car wash. Instead, a wash is ordered through an app, a washer arrives at the car location and washes it there. Then, payment is processed through the app.

Incorporating car data augments these services, by enabling a car wash without the driver being present at the vehicle. For example, a driver could order an external and internal car wash from a meeting, get an alert when doors need to be opened, unlock them remotely, and lock them again when the washer completes the cleaning.

Using Car Data to Provide Driver Services

As the automotive ecosystem keeps growing and connected cars become more widespread, companies will have even more data and functionalities to incorporate into their apps, and they will be able to provide advanced or new services to drivers. Get started today and build a service that has the ability to transform the ownership experience for drivers.

Contact our business team for more information.

Do you have more ideas for on-demand driver services? Let us know in the comments section.

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