Shopping for a new or used car, or even selling a vehicle, is a process that requires plenty of research. From understanding what features you are looking for in a car or finding the right price in the marketplace, it can take time and energy. However, these different tasks are being made easier for sellers and customers alike thanks to the power of collective intelligence.

What is collective intelligence?

To understand collective intelligence, it's best to look at it from a three-pronged approach: cognition, cooperation, and coordination. Cognition is based on assessment, using group intelligence data to understand what current and prospective buyers and sellers are thinking about particular products. This allows for the prediction of future market trends, using this general intelligence to get an understanding of the collective behavior habits of their target audience.

Cooperation is building networks of trust, creating a long-standing relationship that will help you get a better study of collective intelligence. This can include real-time data from person to person businesses, helping to create algorithms that help to individualize research for buying and selling automobiles. Using business intelligence software, companies can target an individual in the enterprise with the intention of active participation. Coordination in collective intelligence allows for an understanding of a group's performance within the marketplace, divvying that into individual intelligence to help distinguish precisely what a consumer could be wanting.

Online Car Sales

The COVID-19 pandemic forced us to rely heavily on the internet for everything from streaming a new series to getting kids through school. This included shopping for everything, including new and used cars. With the development of collective intelligence, companies are able to use real-time data to determine exactly what a buyer is looking for when it comes to pricing and certain features that appear to be a must-have for this particular customer. This will allow for interaction with some level of immediacy and personalized attention.

The use of artificial intelligence is making for better matches and is actually accelerating sales in the used car business. Buyers and sellers are relying on factor analysis for these e-commerce solutions. Rather than having to navigate through a group of people to stand out in a dealership, collective and group intelligence allows for individualized preferences to stand out in the marketplace. While this was an almost immediate advantage to people purchasing a car or motorcycle, it left sellers in an interesting position. However, with collective data and the development of online content creators, used and new car sales have managed to give buyers a better look than just a few photos. This can include 3-D looks inside a vehicle, or even COVID-19 compliant ways of handing off the keys.

Bidding in a Car Auction

Some people may not think of a car auction as a viable option to find the vehicle for them, however, the use of collective intelligence has been able to direct prospective customers to auctions designed with what a driver has in mind. Using real-time data from recent research, online outlets will use algorithms that could point to the right auction block. There's no sense in getting into a bidding war over vehicles and motorcycles that you as a buyer may not really want. However, if you are directed towards bidding based on correlations in your research, you can find the right car.

The same goes for sellers who can find a local auction house or online platform that can make for a new way to get the cash you want for the ride you want to sell. With an understanding of the status of the vehicle, especially for used cars, prospective bidders can go into an auction without dealing with a crowd and knowing what their prospects are.