Driving consumer confidence in higher value vehicles

We are continually reviewing and enhancing your adverts to deliver on our promise to drive consumer confidence in the vehicle, the price, the retailer, and the transaction. A recent on-site survey showed that 95% of consumers on Auto Trader believe Price Indicators are important in giving them confidence in the price of their next car [1]. We want consumers to feel confident in buying from you, so, we’re making some improvements to Price Indicators over the coming weeks to reinforce trust in you as the seller and support you in providing the best buying experience to your customers.

We’re making changes to widen the volume of stock that benefits from consumer price transparency and making some visual improvements to help with accessibility.

These include:

• Increasing the upper limit of vehicles that receive a Price Indicator from £50,000 to £70,000

• Updating Price Indicator visuals and supporting content for buyers

• Ensuring consistent experience and standards when Auto Trader Valuations and Price Indicators are used by integrators and partners

Why are we increasing the upper limit of vehicles that receive a Price Indicator to £70,000?

Used vehicle prices have risen by around 25% in the last two years on Auto Trader. This means we've seen a significant increase in the volume of vehicles that sit above the £50,000 threshold for displaying Price Indicators. To react to this market shift, from 12th June we're increasing the threshold to £70,000, allowing retailers who sell vehicles of higher value to benefit from Price Indicators and reinforce price trust with their buyers for these higher valued and often higher spec vehicles.

How are we updating Price Indicator visuals?

As with all areas of our site, we continually review and optimise the consumer experience for our Price Indicators. You’ll soon notice some slight tweaks to the colour and supporting explanation of each Price Indicator, making sure they are accessible to all buyers regardless of any permanent, temporary, or situational disability. These updates will also help to give your buyers an improved understanding of why a vehicle has received a certain Price Indicator when comparing vehicles, helping them to make a more informed decision.

What are we doing to ensure a consistent experience where Valuations and Price Indicators are applied by integrators?

Over 7,500 retailers are now connected to our marketplace through Auto Trader Connect – Retail Essentials and an increasing number of partners are consuming our data via API. As a result, we’re seeing more demand from retailers to integrate Auto Trader Valuations and Price Indicators into their own websites and applications. To ensure that car buyers receive a consistent experience, we’ll be introducing a new implementation guideline and style guide for using Price Indicators in your own systems.

When will these changes happen?

We’ll be introducing these updates on 12th June, so be sure to look out for them on or after this date.

Sources

1: Survey autotrader.co.uk May 2023 with 529 consumers where 95% said that Price Indicators are important in giving them confidence in the price of their next car