The Auto Market Brief – Bonus

In this Episode

Is the industry’s move toward more transparent pricing a response to FTC pricing rules, or a shift that was already underway?

In this bonus episode of The Auto Market Brief, host Erin Keating is joined by Erin Lomax, Vice President of Operations for Consumer Marketplaces at Cox Automotive, to discuss the growing focus on all-in pricing and why pricing transparency is becoming increasingly important for both shoppers and dealers. While FTC regulation enforcement has brought new urgency to the conversation, the discussion explores how consumer expectations around pricing clarity have been evolving for years, and how dealers may have already been adapting.

Key Takeaways:

Transparent pricing builds shopper confidence: Shoppers are not simply looking for the lowest advertised price. According to Cox Automotive’s marketplace data, listings with fee-inclusive pricing are generating stronger engagement, more leads, and more value actions, suggesting that consumers increasingly reward clarity and confidence throughout the shopping journey.

Trust may become a competitive advantage: As affordability remains a concern for many vehicle shoppers, unexpected fees can create uncertainty and disrupt purchasing decisions. This conversation explores why transparency is becoming more than a compliance requirement and how it can help strengthen consumer trust and create competitive advantages for dealers.

Operational consistency matters just as much as disclosure: For dealers, one of the biggest challenges is maintaining consistent pricing and fee information across inventory systems, websites, marketplaces, digital retailing tools, and other consumer touchpoints. The conversation examines how better fee management processes can simplify operations while improving the shopper experience.

The discussion also covers all-in pricing, dealer workflows, inventory management, digital retailing, marketplace engagement, fee-inclusive listings, consumer behavior, and how the industry is responding to evolving expectations around transparency.

00:00 Intro

01:31 FTC Updates and Background on All-In Pricing

02:57 How the Industry May Have Already Been Adapting

04:19 How Shoppers Respond to More Complete Pricing

07:30 What the Marketplace Data Is Showing

09:17 The Dealer Reality Behind Fee Management

12:30 Managing Pricing Across Multiple Systems

15:57 How Cox Automotive Is Supporting Dealers

17:45 Where Technology Ends and Dealer Responsibility Begins

19:24 What’s Live Today and What’s Coming Next

21:26 How Will We Know the Industry Is Making Progress?

22:14 When Transparency Becomes a Competitive Advantage

24:32 What Dealers and Consumers Need to Know

27:45 Outro