December’s browsers turn into January’s buyers. Are you prepared?

42 of every 100 buyers in January did their research in December

Did you know that 42% of buyers in January this year did their research in December 2020?

Whilst the current market is far from predictable, it’s a safe bet that those buyers looking to make a purchase early next year are doing their research and looking at your adverts on our marketplace right now.

It’s also worth remembering that January this year saw the third national lockdown and retail only being permitted online so we could potentially see a bumper month in January.

What do you need to do to prepare for January?

With many buyers looking at their new year’s purchase right now, it’s crucial that you follow these simple steps to ensure that buyers choose your stock as their next purchase.

Step 1: Make sure your stock is online

The first step is the simplest and most important – make sure that you have all your stock available online and visible to consumers. The simple fact in this digital world is that if it’s not online, it’s not for sale. There’s no reason to wait and if you’re not uploading your stock onto the UK’s largest new and used marketplace (Auto Trader) then chances are buyers won’t see it and you will miss out on a sale.

Step 2: Make sure you’re pricing to the market

Demand is incredibly strong and the ongoing new car supply issues show no signs of easing any time soon, with October being the weakest for new car manufacturing in the UK since 1956. These factors have meant that used car prices have continued to soar, with November being the 20th month of consecutive price rises.

With that in mind, its crucial that you keep abreast of the market pricing to ensure that your vehicles are priced to the market ensuring you get the maximum profit from each sale. This may seem simple but right now there is still a huge opportunity with the stock that is priced below the current retail market valuation, almost 160,000 stock equivalents to an additional profit £90 million!

To help keep you up to date with real-time market pricing, be sure to utilise our free to use Market Insight Tool.

Step 3: Have all of your adverts as good as they can be

With so many now looking for their January purchase, you need to ensure that all of your adverts are correct and up to date with the latest information.

Are your images as good as they can be? Can you add a video to the advert? Are all your digital retailing options like click and collect and home delivery clearly displayed? Is the description accurate and detailed? Is the vehicle priced to the market?

If you’ve worked through these then you’re on track to be drawing in January’s buyers.

And don’t forget that we recently launched Auto Trader Connect, our real-time data solution that enables you to more efficiently manage your stock and address many of the questions above. You can find out more and register for access here.