New Cox Automotive research finds notable differences in how data-driven dealers approach dealership technology, from selection and implementation to vendor engagement and utilization.
Dealers have no shortage of technology promising greater efficiency, stronger customer relationships and better business results. The harder question is what happens after a new tool enters the dealership.
The Cox Automotive 2026 Dealer Success Study highlights one group in particular: data-driven dealers. In the study, a data-driven dealer is one whose decision-making is primarily driven by data rather than gut instinct or experience. Just 22% of franchised dealers strongly agreed with that statement.
That relatively small group is more likely to report meeting its profitability goals: 36% of data-driven dealers say they are meeting their profitability goals, compared with 19% of all other dealers.
The difference isn’t just having data or technology. It’s the discipline dealers bring to what they buy, how they put it to work and how they keep getting more value from it.
For dealers considering their next technology investment, that raises a different question: Are they getting everything they can from their existing tools?
Technology strategy starts before the contract is signed
Shopping for dealership technology often focuses on features, capabilities, integrations and, increasingly, artificial intelligence. But the research suggests data-driven dealers also scrutinize how a new tool could affect the quality of their data.
Forty-two percent of data-driven dealers weigh whether a tool improves data quality before signing, compared with 22% of other dealers. That 20-point difference is the widest gap between the two groups in how they evaluate dealership technology.
That matters because a technology decision can affect far more than one workflow. It can strengthen or fragment the data moving through the dealership, shape what employees trust and influence what leaders can measure later.
Technology strategy, in other words, begins before implementation. The purchase itself becomes part of a broader operating discipline around data quality and business outcomes.
See all five practices that distinguish data-driven dealerships in the full Dealer Success Study.
The overlooked technology metric: Are dealers using it to its full potential?
The discipline continues after a tool goes live.
Data-driven dealers are more likely to say a tool is being used to its full potential: 55% say so, compared with 39% of other dealers. Across all franchised dealers in the study, those using their tools to full potential also reported better profitability over the past year.
That does not mean technology utilization alone causes better profitability. It does suggest that utilization deserves attention alongside acquisition. A dealership can choose the right technology and still leave value on the table if the tool never becomes part of how the business actually operates.
For dealership leaders, three questions can help shift the technology conversation from acquisition to value:
- What outcome is this tool supposed to improve?
Adoption matters, but usage is not the same as business impact. Dealers need a clear view of the outcome a tool is intended to influence and a way to tell whether it is doing so.
2. Are dealers treating vendors as an ongoing source of expertise?
Seventy-six percent of data-driven dealers regularly consult vendor representatives to optimize how they use a tool, compared with 61% of other dealers. The relationship does not have to end when implementation does. Regular conversations about features, workflows, training and performance can help dealerships keep adapting how they use the technology.
3. Where are dealers leaving capability unused?
A tool may technically be deployed while important features, workflows or integrations remain underused. Identifying those gaps creates an opportunity to improve the return on an existing investment before adding another system.
Those questions shift the conversation from what dealers should buy next to how they can create more value from the technology they already have.
AI raises the stakes for technology management
As AI capabilities become embedded in more dealership technology, the discipline surrounding how dealers manage their tools becomes even more important.
AI can expand what dealers are able to do with data and tools, but more sophisticated technology does not eliminate the fundamentals underneath it. If a dealership has not defined what success looks like, does not trust the information flowing through its systems or is not fully using existing capabilities, adding another layer of technology will not automatically solve those issues.
The lesson from the Dealer Success Study is broader than any individual product or feature. Dealers that identify themselves as data-driven approach technology as an ongoing management discipline: making deliberate choices, paying attention to the data those choices create and continuing to work with tools and partners after implementation.
For dealerships, getting more value from technology does not always require another tool. It may start with getting more from the technology already in place.
Want the full playbook?
The 2026 Dealer Success Study identifies five practices that distinguish data-driven dealerships and explores what those practices can mean for technology decisions and dealership performance.
Explore the full Dealer Success Study for the complete findings and playbook:
