Instead of dragging potential buyers out of a car to discuss details, Mercedes Benz is using the iPad to keep them on the showroom floor while getting down to brass tacks.
Some 40 Mercedes Benz dealerships are testing the iPad program, which uses the company’s MB Advantage software. The sales staff can scroll through info on the latest offers, check rebates and start running the credit application while the customer sits in the Mercedes they are interested in buying.
“We wanted to bring the mobile revolution into the dealership,” Andreas Hinrichs, vice president of marketing, told the Wall Street Journal. . “The iPad is consumer centric but there is a business side to it as well.” If the pilot program is successful, the company will roll it out for all 350 US dealers.
Good for the seller, sure. But for the buyer? They just might miss a shot at reality in a cubby-hole office, making a decision they regret while high on that new-car smell.
Nicole Martinelli is a San Francisco freelance writer who heads up Cult of Mac Magazine, our weekly publication available on iTunes. You can find her on Twitter and Google+. If you’re doing something new, cool and Apple-related, email her.
