TradePending and Authenticom partner to automate customer retention across North American auto dealerships

TradePending, a Chapel Hill-based sales and service enablement platform for car dealerships, has entered into a strategic technology integration agreement with Authenticom, a data syndication and automotive software infrastructure provider. The partnership, announced on June 11, 2025, will embed Authenticom’s data capabilities into TradePending’s flagship Value Watch tool, enabling dealerships to automate customer retention workflows from the point of sale or service event.

The collaboration is being positioned as a milestone in dealership automation, especially as retention strategies become more critical in an industry where consumers are holding onto vehicles longer and customer acquisition costs continue to climb. TradePending, which is backed by private equity firm Capstreet, says the move directly addresses growing dealer demand for lifecycle marketing tools that reduce manual overhead and improve customer engagement at scale.

Why the TradePending–Authenticom partnership is significant for dealership automation

The TradePending–Authenticom partnership centers on improving how auto dealers manage and monetize the customer lifecycle. Value Watch, TradePending’s existing software product, delivers dealer-branded vehicle valuation updates and service reminders to consumers on a recurring basis. By integrating Authenticom’s data syndication infrastructure, this process will now be automatically triggered at key moments in the vehicle ownership journey, removing the need for dealership personnel to manage data uploads or campaign timing manually.

This automation covers both service and sales touchpoints. For service events, Value Watch will begin communications immediately after a customer visit, delivering maintenance insights, live trade-in values, and dealer-specific offers. For vehicle sales, the system is designed to delay outreach for up to one year, aligning engagement timing with typical trade-in consideration windows and post-warranty service needs. Additionally, the system incorporates ownership tracking features that adjust records and contact strategies if a vehicle is resold.

TradePending Chief Executive Officer Brice Englert stated that the integration reflects the platform’s commitment to simplifying dealership operations. He noted that dealerships have historically struggled to maintain consistent, personalized communication with customers, particularly after the point of sale. Englert described the new workflow as a way for dealers to “deliver more value to their customers with less effort,” consistent with TradePending’s mission of offering “simple automotive” solutions.

Fragmented tools and rising lifecycle marketing demand in automotive retail

The North American automotive dealership ecosystem has long been challenged by the complexity of customer retention. Dealerships often use separate systems for service records, CRM, marketing automation, and inventory management. This fragmentation has made it difficult to implement scalable retention strategies that feel personalized and timely to the end consumer.

Moreover, the macroeconomic climate has reinforced the need for dealerships to extend the value of existing customers. Higher interest rates and elevated vehicle prices have led consumers to delay purchases and instead focus on maintaining existing cars. According to Cox Automotive, the average car ownership period in the United States reached an all-time high of 12.5 years in 2024. This trend makes recurring dealership communication essential—not just for service revenue, but for long-term trade-in positioning.

In this context, tools like TradePending’s Value Watch, enhanced by Authenticom’s data backbone, are emerging as central to modern dealer operations. Unlike traditional customer relationship management tools that rely on user input, this integrated system enables fully automated outreach triggered by event-driven data flows.

What TradePending and Authenticom each bring to the integration

TradePending, which serves over 5,000 dealerships across the United States and Canada, has built its platform around improving transparency and efficiency in dealership communications. Its tools convert online traffic into qualified leads, offer real-time valuation data to customers, and now, through Value Watch, help retain service and sales customers across the vehicle lifecycle.

Authenticom, founded in 2002, has become a foundational player in automotive data connectivity. Its API infrastructure powers data access for dealers, OEMs, CRM platforms, and financial institutions. The company specializes in secure, permissioned data flow and has increasingly shifted toward use cases involving marketing enablement and real-time personalization.

Authenticom President Jason Tryfon stated that the partnership enables more dealerships to unlock the benefits of automation. He emphasized that by pairing data integrity with outreach automation, the integration enhances both compliance and customer experience. Tryfon added that this initiative supports Authenticom’s wider mission of ensuring seamless, secure data exchange across the automotive ecosystem.

Investor sentiment and Capstreet’s role in TradePending’s growth

The integration announcement also signals a strategic step forward for Capstreet, the Houston-based private equity firm that has backed TradePending’s platform expansion. Capstreet has a history of investing in lower middle market companies with potential for software-led scalability, particularly those that serve industry-specific verticals.

Through its proprietary Capvalue Framework®, Capstreet supports its portfolio companies by streamlining go-to-market strategies and optimizing operational leverage. In the case of TradePending, the partnership with Authenticom may serve as a proof point for how Capstreet’s capital and methodology can accelerate adoption of dealer-facing software.

Market observers have noted that automotive retail is entering a phase of digital maturity, where investor focus has shifted from lead generation to retention and operational automation. Solutions that reduce cost per lead and increase dealership revenue per user (RPU) are being prioritized over one-off acquisition tools. In this environment, a product like Value Watch—especially when enhanced with Authenticom’s infrastructure—addresses a critical retention challenge at scale.

How the partnership may shape future dealership technology trends

The TradePending–Authenticom integration may also act as a template for future product collaborations in the automotive technology space. As dealerships continue to consolidate platforms and reduce software vendor sprawl, tightly integrated tools that serve multiple business objectives are gaining favor.

Future roadmap expansions may include machine learning algorithms that predict service needs based on mileage patterns, or integrations with digital advertising platforms to retarget customers showing signs of defection. Both companies hinted that continued collaboration may extend into multi-channel communications, including text, email, and mobile push notifications.

Additionally, the focus on lifecycle engagement rather than point-in-time sales aligns with broader industry shifts. Automotive OEMs and large dealer groups are increasingly building retention into their KPIs, focusing on repeat service visits, trade-in capture, and residual value optimization. Tools like Value Watch help operationalize these priorities, turning what used to be post-sale guesswork into automated workflows.