Leave the wallet home: Your car is the new shopping cart
Wireless connections are enabling new features in cars for busy drivers — such as ordering food, finding gas stations, making toll payments, and more.
General Motors now has “Marketplace,” which allows drivers to order and pay for their favorite coffee — and more — on the way to work with a simple tap on the dash. Marketplace uses the embedded 4G LTE connectivity in new cars, trucks, and crossovers.
“Marketplace is currently available in two million GM vehicles and will be in four million by the end of the year,” said Stefan Cross, spokesman for General Motors connected vehicle products, “Marketplace has a lot of repeat customers. Once customers try it they use it daily because it fits into their daily routine.”
Cross said that payments and ordering from Dunkin’ Donuts and IHOP pancake house are popular in the morning, while WingStop and Applebees are more popular in the evening hours. Customers can also make reservations at TGI Fridays.
The Marketplace infotainment screen was designed to be as easy to use as radio knobs, said Cross, with only a few icons to touch. It uses machine learning from realtime interaction data, such as location, time of day, and a driver’s established digital relationship with third-party merchants, to offer highly personalized experiences.
Adhering to industry distracted driving guidelines, GM designs its in-vehicle systems to minimize manual interactions, helping drivers keep their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel.
Marketplace also offers discounts and rewards that send coupons to drivers’ smartphones to be used in retail locations.
“Wireless, in-vehicle commerce is convenient for drivers, saves time, and only will continue to get better and grow,” predicts GM’s Cross.
Audi offers vehicle-integrated toll payment technology on select vehicles. The Integrated Toll Module — or ITM — is a toll transponder built into the Audi vehicle’s rearview mirror, allowing drivers to access toll roads throughout the U.S.
“With ITM, we’re helping to improve the vehicle design aesthetic by eliminating the need for bulky toll tags, while also expediting travel and providing an added layer of convenience for our customers,” said Mark Dahncke, director of product communications, Audi of America.
The mirror-based toll payment solution gives convenient access to the country’s toll roads while helping to eliminate windscreen clutter and the need to manage multiple toll accounts.
A new pilot program from PayByCar allows drivers to use toll transponders for fast non-toll transactions, such as pumping gas and paying at quick-serve restaurants and car wash drivethrus and other automotive services. PayByCar makes in-vehicle payment fast and easy. Anybody who has an E-ZPass transponder in their car can enroll in PayByCar and be able to drive up and pay, without ever reaching for their wallet.
PayByCar, which is currently in pilot, is frictionless. Drivers opt-in to the program and choose the payment method (credit or debit card, e-wallet, etc.) that they’ll be using for non-toll charges. PayByCar customers grant permission to use their E-ZPass transponder to look up a separate PayByCar account.