How Phyron and Konversable turned WhatsApp into a 90% engagement channel for Henrys Cars

Buying a car today looks very different from just a few years ago. Shoppers begin their journey online — researching models, comparing deals, and watching videos — long before they ever set foot in a dealership. When they’re ready to ask a question or book a test drive, increasingly they expect immediate, conversational replies, not callbacks or email chains.

This expectation has been shaped by other industries that have already embraced real-time messaging. From retail to travel to banking, customers are used to chatting instantly with brands, getting quick updates, and resolving questions without friction.

3.1 billion conversations waiting to happen

Globally, more than 3.1 billion people use WhatsApp every month, making it one of the most familiar ways to communicate. For automotive retailers, that’s a clear signal. If customers are already spending their digital lives on WhatsApp, it’s the natural place to meet them.

For buyers, WhatsApp messaging feels comfortable and low-pressure. They can ask about a car during their lunch break, get a quick video reply from the sales team, and pick up the conversation hours later — all in one chat thread.

For dealers, it’s a faster, more human way to move customers through the buying journey, from interest to inquiry to sale.

And when it comes to promotions, the reach and format are hard to beat. As Wes Beard, Managing Director at Konversable, puts it:

“WhatsApp broadcasts are like SMS on steroids — you’ve got more characters, emojis, images, even short video — and people are on WhatsApp all day.”

Building the foundations for smarter car sales

Curiosity led Wes and the Konversable team to start experimenting with the WhatsApp Business API back in 2019. They could see communication trends were shifting toward instant, conversational messaging, so they invested early, building a solution that would let dealers use WhatsApp safely at scale with full oversight and GDPR compliance.

That groundwork created the perfect platform for collaboration, and when Phyron entered the picture, the connection was obvious. Both companies were tackling different sides of the same challenge, helping dealers make online car buying faster, more personal and more visual. And both recognised that because video sells cars best it had to be part of the WhatsApp experience.

The two companies began working together to merge Konversable’s messaging infrastructure with Phyron’s automated video technology, bringing the emotional power of video into the place customers already spend their time.

“It felt like a natural step,” says Graeme Dengate, Partnership Director at Phyron. “Our data shows that video consistently outperforms images or text and helps cars sell three to five days faster. Bringing that power into WhatsApp allows dealers to communicate faster, more visually, and more effectively with their customers.”.

The result is a seamless experience for buyers. When someone enquires about a vehicle, a personalised Phyron video can now be sent instantly through WhatsApp, sparking engagement, excitement and trust long before a phone call is ever made.

Driving results with Henrys Cars

Forward-thinking Glasgow retailer Henrys Cars, representing Honda, ŠKODA and Suzuki, was among the first to put the Phyron–Konversable integration into practice.

Each Henrys Cars dealership was equipped with its own dedicated WhatsApp number through Konversable’s platform, allowing sales teams to message customers directly while managers maintained full visibility of every conversation. This gave Henrys a modern, compliant way to communicate that felt fast, personal and secure.

At the same time, Henrys were already using Phyron’s automated inventory videos and paid ads to showcase every vehicle in stock online. Extending that same dynamic content into WhatsApp made their customer experience feel seamless, and even more engaging.

Now, when a customer enquires about a vehicle, they receive a short AI-generated Phyron video of that exact car straight to their phone, often within minutes. What was once a routine follow-up has become a visually rich, personalised moment that sparks genuine interest.

The results speak for themselves:

✔️ 90% open rate, compared to an industry average of 30–35% for email
✔️ 22.5–25% reply rate, meaning one in four customers responded
✔️ Customers frequently referencing the videos when following up or booking appointments, proving the experience was memorable and engaging

“You’re hitting the customer when they’re hot,” Wes says. “They’re already looking at that car, and then suddenly they see it come to life in a video inside WhatsApp. It’s instant, visual and exciting. That’s why we’re seeing such strong engagement.”

“They love the fact that they are sent a video of the car”

Henrys Cars echoed this sentiment, describing the immediate shift they saw in customer behaviour once video became part of their WhatsApp conversations. As Peter Mustard, Dealer Principal at Henrys, told us:

“At Henrys, we’ve found that when a customer enquires about a car through our Konversable WhatsApp channel, they love the fact that they are sent a video of the car as part of the response. It’s easy for them to share with friends and family, and it helps build the desire and excitement to take the enquiry to the next stage. We’ve also noticed significantly more interaction once customers receive the video compared to a standard text-only message.”

He went on to explain how the integration has made the customer journey even smoother:

“At Henrys, all our used cars have a Phyron video on our website. Thanks to our partnership with Konversable, we’ve been able to embed the WhatsApp logo directly into the video itself. This means customers can enjoy a visual tour of the car while listening to the voiceover talk through its key specifications. And with the universally recognised WhatsApp logo right there on the video, they can simply tap it to speak with a member of our sales team on a channel they’re already comfortable using.”

This is what the experience looks like when a customer taps the video and moves instantly into WhatsApp.

This pilot demonstrates how combining video and WhatsApp can dramatically increase engagement while modernising the customer experience. Henrys saw not only higher response rates but also faster, more personal interactions. Exactly the kind that build trust and momentum in the sales journey.

What’s next for WhatsApp and car retail?

After seeing success with Henrys, Phyron and Konversable are continuing to explore how video can make WhatsApp an even more seamless part of the car-buying journey. Future developments are focused on enhancing how retailers connect with customers, from smarter video follow-ups and dynamic content updates to conversational AI tools that help guide buyers, answer questions and pass leads to sales teams when needed.

Both companies share a vision of making every customer interaction more visual, personal and immediate, turning conversations into conversions and transforming how cars are sold online.

For Henrys and other early adopters, WhatsApp isn’t just a new communication tool. It’s becoming a key part of the car-buying experience. A place where conversations start, relationships build, and sales happen faster than ever.