Deal Advisor was a mobile app that helped car buyers evaluate purchase offers in real time, translating KBB's trusted market data into a clear, step-by-step negotiation guide.
Deliverables
UX Design
Interaction Design
Visual Design
Product Strategy
Role
UX/UI Designer
The Challenge
Car shoppers had access to more pricing data than ever, but individual data points only told part of the story. What was missing was a way to evaluate the complete deal in one place, in real time, during the negotiation itself. KBB was already the trusted pricing authority. The opportunity was to bring that trust into the dealership, giving buyers clarity and giving dealers a tool that reduced friction on both sides.
Discovery and Design Process
Research revealed a telling pattern: buyers were printing KBB pricing pages at home and bringing them to the dealership. They had data but no way to evaluate the full deal in the moment. The design shifted from an information display model to a guided evaluation model. Early sketches reframed the traditional dealership four-square into a structured mobile workflow. Concepts were validated through rapid prototyping and usability testing across different buyer types. The approach anchored on a single persistent confidence indicator, progressive disclosure to keep the default view scannable, and real-time validation so users could see whether each input fell within KBB's fair range as they entered it.
Key Design Decisions
The interface was built around a single persistent deal indicator visible at all times, giving users an immediate read on overall deal quality before diving into the details. Each of the four deal variables was collapsed by default and expanded on tap, keeping the experience scannable under dealership pressure. Every input field showed real-time feedback against KBB's fair range, turning pricing data into an active negotiation guide rather than a static reference. The layout was optimized for one-handed use, screen glare, and divided attention. Partner value was woven in contextually, with lender offers and OEM incentives surfacing only when they could genuinely improve the deal.
Impact and Outcomes
Deal Advisor helped shift KBB from a pricing reference to a decision platform, contributing to 200% dealer network growth, a 41% lift in shopper engagement, and over 50 million sales influenced. Increased user confidence and trust toward participating dealerships reduced friction on both sides of the transaction. The work laid the foundation for vehicle merchandising across Cox Automotive, paving the way for the Accelerate program that later rolled out across KBB and Autotrader.
