End-to-end eCommerce company Shift Technologies has announced that it will merge with used vehicle consignment business CarLotz, a press release from the company said.
The merger aims to consolidate Shift’s acquisition engine and presence on the West Coast along with CarLotz’s consignment relationships and retail locations in the mid-Atlantic region.
Shift also has a new business plan which it said will focus more sales through its most profitable online checkout channel, letting consumers buy a vehicle online, sight unseen, for either pickup or delivery. It will eliminate test drives.
The company said because of the market dynamics going on it will be favoring vehicles that are older than eight years or have 80,000 miles on them.
Jeff Clementz, Shift’s President and incoming CEO, said the company was seeing more consumers opting for a “true eCommerce” offering, in which they don’t have to interact with anyone in person.
“Focusing on this sales channel not only caters to consumer demand, but is also significantly more profitable in terms of unit economics,” he said. “I’m extremely confident that the team we have in place is well positioned to execute on this revised business strategy, and I look forward to bringing the Shift and CarLotz teams together once we complete the merger later this year.”
Last year, CarLotz opened a new location in the Atlanta area, which gave the company locations in 11 states across the country, adding more to its footprint in the southeastern U.S.
Read more: CarLotz Opens Georgia Consignment-to-Retail Hub
“We are so happy to open our first hub in Georgia and become a part of the Atlanta community,” said Michael Bor, co-founder and CEO of CarLotz, in the company announcement.
He added that the expansion would offer more ways for guests to be a part of the company’s peer-to-peer marketplace.
CarLotz also recently opened locations in Orlando and Seattle last year, too.
The company does not own the cars it sells, and unlike most other such companies, it markets autos on a “consignment” basis, polishing them up and marketing them on sites to show to purchasers.
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