Reynolds and Reynolds acquires customer contact specialist Gubagoo

Reynolds and Reynolds has completed the acquisition of car retail customer contact specialist Gubagoo to drive forward the development of its Reynolds Retail Anywhere platform.

Gubagoo is already partnered with over 6,500 car retailers across the globe and harnesses live chat, text, video, Facebook Messenger, and other digital messaging channels to convert leads into appointments and sales for dealerships.

DMS provider Reynolds said the acquisition of the US-headquartered business represents an expansion of its Reynolds Retail Anywhere platform, which serves customers no matter where they shop – in-store, online or both – without sacrificing dealership profitability or control.

Robert Burnett, executive vice president of corporate development and chief financial officer at Reynolds, said: "Reynolds is constantly looking for ways to enhance our solutions, and with this acquisition, we are making another investment in the future of our business and our dealership customers' long-term profitability.

"Incorporating Gubagoo's digital retailing and chat technology into our Retail Anywhere platform will further empower our dealer partners to compete and win against their competition."

Gugaboo chief executive, Brad Title, said: "We are excited to join the winning team at Reynolds.

"We are looking forward to accelerating our pace of innovation, as we continue advancing our conversational commerce and digital retailing tools to help dealers win the future.”

Burnett added: "The technology Gubagoo brings to dealers on any system makes it truly unmatched in the industry.

"As customers continue to push more of the buying process online, dealers' ability to engage and actively sell in that environment will separate successful retailers from the rest.

“This acquisition also demonstrates Reynolds' eagerness and capacity to invest and grow strategically."

Adele Feeney, the managing director for Reynolds UK, who recently featured in an AM '10 minutes with...' interview, said: “This presents a great opportunity for the continued growth and development of this platform in the UK with an already healthy list of established partners and customers.”