Cadillac is celebrating the second anniversary of its Cadillac Live virtual showroom service. The online facility began its initial trial period in Canada in 2019, in a 10,000 square foot film studio in Toronto. It began accepting U.S. calls in September 2020. The service also launched in China in 2020.
Cadillac Live allows prospective buyers to choose a model which interests them. They are then connected to a sales representative who gives them a virtual tour of that vehicle, outlining its features and options and answering relevant questions. Several models have been added to the service over the years, most recently the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing and Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing ultra-high-performance luxury sedans, though both were available for a limited period ahead of their upcoming market launch this summer.
As of this writing, the U.S. version of Cadillac Live features the 2021 Cadillac CT4-V and Cadillac CT5-V high-performance luxury sedans, the Cadillac Escalade Sport Platinum and Escalade ESV Platinum full-size luxury SUVs, and Sport and Premium Luxury versions of the Cadillac XT4, Cadillac XT5 and Cadillac XT6 luxury crossovers. The service includes short pre-recorded videos for each vehicle.
Cadillac was well ahead of the curve in bringing Cadillac Live to market. Originally offered for reasons of convenience, it took on a new significance during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many customers were unable to visit dealerships in person. It is likely that other manufacturers will follow Cadillac’s lead as customers begin to expect that services like this will be provided for them.
In Canada, a Think With Google survey found that over 60 percent of Canadians looking to buy a car said they would use an online purchase option, while 66 percent viewed digital experiences and interactions as a good alternative to a dealer visit. The results of the survey were published in June of 2020, in the relatively early days of the pandemic. It would be unwise to assume that these figures will be any lower in a post-COVID world.
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jacques lamy
bonjour, bien que ce médium soit intéressant pour les consommateurs ,il est livrer seulement en version Anglaise , les Francophones sont aussi des consommateurs potentiel et ce mérite le même équité d’information.
W K S
I’d like to hear the stats – sales generated by Live, vs. Sales generated by dealers. Buying a vehicle is also about building a relationship which continues after sale in service, parts, etc. Live, I assume, can’t offer that. Dealers need to be showing consumers the value they bring from the showroom floor to the service bay. In essence, they need to compete with Live – I would suggest training some of their sales reps as Cadillac “specialists” who can discuss the product in the same way as a Live rep does. Shouldn’t bee difficult.