Pioneer is planning a CarPlay demo tour at car audio specialists that could reach between 30 and 60 markets.
If that sounds familiar it’s because Pioneer is currently running a CarPlay tour at Best Buy where a demo car is parked in front of Best Buy stores in about 40 markets and consumers are given demos in the parking lot.
Starting in September that program will shift over to specialist retailers.
Pioneer’s Ted Cardenas said Pioneer will work with a promotional management firm to analyze the best way to promote CarPlay at specialists in smaller markets in a manner that also builds floor traffic for the retailer. Details of the promotion will be announced in August.
The goal is for the tour to run 3 to 6 months.
Under the Best Buy version of the program, a training rep parks a Scion with a Pioneer CarPlay/Android Auto radio in front of a Best Buy and performs about 20 or 30 demos a day. If the customer is interested, he walks him into the store and hands him off to a salesman.
There’s a good “conversion” rate from the demos to sales, said Cardenas.
“In Atlanta, the first weekend out, a guy was coming to the store to look at microwave ovens. He was shown CarPlay and he bought 4 speakers and a Pioneer AVH-4100NEX for $1,200. Then he came back later that day for one for his wife’s car,” said Cardenas.
Source: CEoutlook
