GM discontinues once-promising Marketplace app that allowed shopping while driving
GM is phasing out its Marketplace automotive app, which allowed drivers to order and pay for goods and services, such as gas or coffee, through their car.
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DETROIT — General Motors is phasing out its Marketplace automotive app, which allowed drivers to order and pay for goods and services, such as gas or Starbucks coffee, through their car.
GM had high hopes for the industry-first feature when it launched in late 2017, but it suffered from low usage and never developed into the full feature set executives had hoped for.
According to GM spokeswoman Stephanie Obendorfer, the automaker has decided to stop the Marketplace from next month after a recent evaluation of its services. She said the company does not have a replacement to announce at this time.
“We regularly evaluate our services to make sure they provide the best experience for our members. In this spirit, we have decided to discontinue our Marketplace services,” GM said in an email notice sent to vehicle owners on Friday.
Since launch, the Marketplace has been offered to the entire line of GM Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC vehicles in the US through their infotainment systems.
Obendorfer declined to discuss usage rates, but the engineer, after launching the feature, described active user rates in “thousands” of millions of vehicles.
The free technology included partnerships with dealers for service appointments and coupons, Shell and ExxonMobil for gas, and Starbucks, among others.
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