How automotive brands can continue to connect with new car buyers
In this time of crisis, automotive brands want to understand how their performance matches up to the market. In this guest blog with Patrick Fuller, Head of Insight at data science specialist Sophus3, he describes the view from eDataXchange, the collaborative online platform between car brands across Europe. We also offer our three key recommendations for brands to focus on right now.
At Sophus3, we have a unique view of the new car market through eDataXchange, a partnership between car manufacturers across Europe that has provided independent insight into the latest car buyer behaviour since 2003. It can accurately track audiences at scale across multiple brands, providing detailed information into shopping habits and customer behaviour.
First, our data shows the impact of the early spread of the coronavirus in the early months of this year. Whereas the US was suffering a hangover from its weak performance in 2019, and Asia Pacific countries were already experiencing the emerging pandemic, in Europe traffic to automotive brand sites was up strongly between December and February. The UK led the way with an impressive 20 per cent increase in daily traffic to automotive sites year on year.
Global traffic to auto brand sites December, January, February. Source: Sophus3 eDataXchange, Similarweb
However, a month later in March, things looked very different, with all continents seeing dramatic falls in audience as the unprecedented restrictions on movement were introduced.
Global traffic to auto brand sites March. Source: Sophus3 eDataXchange, Similarweb
The steep declines started when the partial lockdown in northern regions of Italy was announced on February 21, with neighbour Germany reacting strongest. By the time the German and UK lockdowns were implemented on March 21 and 23 respectively, audiences in each of the Big 5 were in steep decline, although the bunching of the graph in late March shows that countries that were first to react, Italy and Spain, had stabilised to a degree.
Daily auto traffic totals across Big 5 European countries. Source: Sophus3 eDataXchange
Turning to the UK specifically, the reversal in fortunes is stark. After the strong start to the year, which saw daily visits to new car brand sites rise to 774,000 in February, March crashed to 572,000 daily visits overall and just 294,000 per day following the UK lockdown between 23 and 31 March. That’s in a month that would usually see increased traffic thanks to the biannual numberplate change.
UK media sites such as AutoTrader and What Car? have since reported that the remaining audience, albeit smaller than usual, is still engaged and sending out ‘in-market’ signals. Our data supports that view, with KPIs such as bounce rate, time on site and pages viewed down by a much smaller percentage than traffic. Many people are still researching their new car purchase despite the temporary shutdown of retail.
If we go deeper and look at funnel actions such as brochure request and finance quotes, there is also evidence that a hardcore of visitors remain active in the car buying process. The ratio of visitors who go to a configurator, dealer locator, finance quote, brochure request and even test drive landing page is all but identical to what we would expect in normal times. So, while the number of visitors is dramatically lower, with declines of between half and two thirds, those that are still active are visiting key pages in the same proportions.
Daily visits to key funnel landing pages across UK auto sites Q1 2020. Source: Sophus3 eDataXchange
It is too early to say which sectors are performing best in the reduced market. Electric vehicles recorded a dramatic rise in consumer online interest in January and February and it will be interesting to see if that is sustained in any way in March and April.
However, we can report that mainstream premium brands from Germany and UK are currently outperforming the average, as are German and South Korean mass brands. Those who are underperforming the market include niche premium brands and other mass brands.
In the coming weeks, Sophus3 and Auto Trader will continue to report on the latest market movements and help brand marketers and planners to make informed decisions as the coronavirus crisis develops.
Key takeaways from Auto Trader’s, Marc Palmer
Be where your audience is: Looking for a car right now requires more commitment than ever because of the need to stay in touch with friends and loved ones, keep up to speed on the latest news and find distraction to alleviate cabin fever. The numbers are down significantly - but lots of people are still doing it - which means you need to be in front of those that are looking. Be where the audience is looking, and get your new car stock listed onto marketplaces with these audiences.
Focus on ease and transparency: Some buyers are worried about the economy and the affordability of the car they want, but they still either want or need a new car. Helping them understand the monthly cost of the cars they’re looking at is important – and providing details of the finance offers available gives them the information they need as well as providing an easier and more transparent experience when they need it most.
Continue to connect with customers: Plenty of people are researching their next car purchase – but they’re going to take a while longer to commit. So, if your brand is on their shortlist, you’ve got to work harder to stay on it as they do more research over a longer period of time and are exposed to more choice. But if you’re not on lists, you’ve got a chance to get involved before they finally decide. People are on car marketplaces for a reason so continue to try and connect with them through content and advertising. Being quiet and not presenting your product won’t get you on those lists.