Spending money: your new favorite activity while stuck in traffic
General Motors just announced the launch of the automotive industry’s first commerce platform, so you can now order your coffee to go while on your way to the coffee place. Smart, right?
This example might be the most appealing, but it isn’t the single one. Through Marketplace you are given “the opportunity to more safely interact” with your favorite retail, food, hotel, fuel brands, and much more. The app will be a part of any eligible Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, or Cadillac infotainment system and is meant to be used while driving, as “GM designs its in-vehicle systems to minimize manual interactions, helping drivers keep their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel.”
From now on, GM customers can order and pay for their favorite product from the comfort of their car, probably trying to wash away the discomfort a traffic jam brings in any driver’s life. Is it safe to use it while driving? Most definitely, once the self-driving systems change the means of our transportation; for now, looking at a screen wondering what coffee to buy is not the least distracting action while at the wheel.
In case you’re wondering what else can you buy via this commerce platform, here are the first brands to be featured in the Marketplace: GM, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, Wingstop, TGI Friday, Shell, ExxonMobil, priceline.com, Parkopedia, Applebee’s, IHOP, and delivery.com.
The Marketplace will not be available only in the cars sold from now on but also in those that already have an eligible infotainment system (that can support the app, of course). No separate data plan is required to use the Marketplace.