An update from Nathan Coe, Auto Trader CEO

Despite recent spikes in infections it appears that the talk of restrictions being introduced are so far unfounded and we can continue getting on with business. Although it is far from business as usual as so much has changed in the way our industry operates, and the coming months and years will undoubtedly see this remarkable pace of change continue.

There has been speculation recently that the strong consumer demand for vehicles will diminish but we see no indications of this on our platform. As the UKs largest automotive marketplace we are well placed to be the barometer for the industry. The period from October – December is always seasonally slightly softer than the other quarters, but the key demand metrics are showing consistently high levels, remaining up on last year when we were experiencing record breaking levels of demand for vehicles. The number of unique consumers on Auto Trader is up 5% year on year and a staggering 29% up on 2019¹ and the all-important connections with consumers through leads is 10% higher than last year and still over 40% up on 20192².

Time on site, a good measure of consumer engagement, also remains up at over 9.9m hours in October, up 3.3% on last year, and 18% up on 2019³. It’s clear to us that the live retail market is still strong with no signs of this slowing.

Pricing is another key area we are all keenly watching, and October saw another record month with the average price of a used vehicle up 26%⁴ compared to the same time last year with speed of sale maintained at an average of 23 days⁵.

All of this indicates the market is still strong and the need for real time data has never been more critical. Which is why I’m so excited to be talking this month about Auto Trader Connect, a powerful stock management solution we are making available to all retailers. This solution will allow the industry to embrace real-time data and move away from the reliance on rigid scheduled data feeds, laborious re-keying processes and inaccurate or basic vehicle data. Auto Trader Connect is designed to remove some of the biggest pain points for both consumers and retailers as well as driving efficiencies & importantly margin for retailers.

This product has been live with over 325 customers for over 12 months and they have seen significant value in AT Connect. Many have seen that Auto Trader Connect "improves profit per unit", see it as a "massive time saver, saving 2-3 hours a day". Others have talked to the value in stock accuracy “This enables us to advertise vehicles with rich vehicle data, price more accurately to optimise margin”, or better alignment across systems "We are able to manage this in real time in one system removing wasted effort."

Not only is this system delivering significant efficiencies, savings and improved margin for retailers, it’s improving the experience to your customers by addressing a real consumer pain point. Buyers on our site tell us that one of their biggest frustrations when buying a vehicle is investing time, effort and emotion into researching and finding their next vehicle only to find at the last stage that the vehicle isn’t available or isn’t exactly as described. Ensuring your vehicle stock is as up to date as possible through real-time integration and rich vehicle data alleviates this challenge. It also saves time that would have been wasted on enquiries for vehicles that have already been sold or are no longer available.

We believe this functionality is so fundamental to the future of automotive retailing that we will be including this in all of our core packages from next year⁶. To demonstrate our commitment to partnership with you we are releasing this early so you can benefit as soon as possible. Most leading stock management systems are either already integrated or committed to integrate very soon and we are talking to all providers about making this technology available so all retailers can benefit.

We’ll be in touch with you soon with all the details you’ll need or you can visit here for more information.

As always, I’m so proud of the work our team are doing in partnership with you to move our industry forwards. Together, we have accomplished much, but there is still so much more we can do.

Nathan

Data sources

1 - Auto Trader internal analysis of Google Analytics data, average number of daily unique visits, Oct 2021 vs Oct 2020 & 2019 (inclusive).

2 - Auto Trader internal analysis of leads delivered (email, chat, text), Oct 2021 vs Oct 2020 & 2019 (inclusive).

3 - Auto Trader internal analysis of Google Analytics data, time on site, 1st – 31st Oct 2021 vs 1st – 31st Oct 2020 & 2019 (inclusive).

4 - Auto Trader Retail Price Index change in like for like price movement Oct 2021 5 - Sales proxy data based on stock removed from Auto Trader.

5 - Auto Trader internal analysis of time stock is available before removed from advertising, assumed sold.

6 - Auto Trader Connect, Retail Essentials will be included in core advertising packages which includes Starter, Standard, Enhanced, Super and Ultra, but excludes our legacy basic package, bargain package and bespoke contracts.