Building trust online between buyers and sellers
Lots has changed in the industry since our last significant update to adverts and Retailer Stores on Auto Trader. The shift to digital is becoming clearer, with two thirds of consumers finding the idea of buying a vehicle online more appealing.¹
To continue to help you build consumers’ confidence in purchasing from you, we are making several changes over the next 12 months to improve the experience for your buyers. We know that buyers want to access certain information as quickly and easily as possible when viewing adverts, so these changes will focus on giving them access to the right information to make an informed decision.
The first phase of changes we’ll make over the next six months are designed to make sure that however a consumer chooses to buy, they have the most accurate information to compare vehicles, retailers and deals on Auto Trader.
Over the coming weeks you’ll notice that:
The imagery on your adverts will be even better for your buyers
Visibility of key vehicle information to buyers will be improved
Your reviews will be easier to navigate on your Retailer Store
Improvements to vehicle imagery
Images and videos are crucial when a potential buyer is interacting with your adverts. Consumers want to inspect the vehicle and be able to easily navigate through the images, ultimately supporting them in deciding whether the vehicle is suitable for their needs.
Here’s a summary of what you’ll soon notice on your vehicle imagery:
Improvements to your image gallery, to help you best display your vehicle images to buyers
Vehicle images will be bigger in search on native apps to be in line with the changes we have already made on web, better showcasing your vehicles earlier in the journey
Videos will be easily accessible from the image gallery, reducing the need for buyers to scroll to find a video
Visibility of key vehicle information to buyers
Recent data shows that many customer enquiries are asking for more detail on vehicle specifics such as warranty, date of last service and number of owners. This information is listed within the advert today but isn’t found as easily as it should be, or might not be listed at all if you haven’t inputted this information.
You'll soon notice some adjustments to your adverts to improve the layout and priority of information, to make sure your buyers can get to the stuff that matters to them quickly and easily.
Key information will become more accessible to buyers through an improved design and within the vehicle description, so it's important that you add this information, if relevant, when listing an advert.
Where applicable for the vehicle type, these updates will apply to:
Service history
Number of owners
Warranty information
MOT information
Here’s how these changes will look:
Making reviews easier to navigate
With 93%² of consumers now reading reviews online before they make a purchase, it’s more important than ever that we support both our retailers and buyers in having enhanced visibility of reviews as part of their purchasing decision.
Here’s a snapshot of the changes you’ll start to notice over the coming months, to help give you powerful exposure of your customer service through your reviews:
A new search bar where buyers can search for keywords, giving them the opportunity to find something specific that they are looking for within your reviews
A revised default sort order of newest reviews first, allowing you to maximise your opportunity with current and future buyers by ensuring your most recent customer experience is shown to anyone who is looking at your reviews
An enhanced ‘Sort by’ filter, enabling buyers to choose between Newest first, Oldest first and Verified, giving them ultimate flexibility in filtering reviews
The ability to filter timeframes on your reviews, giving customers the chance to see reviews from their desired time frame, whether that be the last month or last 12 months
Here’s how these changes will look:
What’s next?
We’ll make sure we keep you updated and share more designs as we continue to make the journey between you and your future buyers as seamless as possible.
¹ Source: Auto Trader Car Buyers Tracker Jul-22
²Source: https://www.qualtrics.com/blog/online-review-stats/