Improving the motorhome and caravan buying journey with finance calculators
In October last year we launched our finance calculator product to Motorhome and Caravan retailers, allowing you to get a customised monthly price and finance calculator added to your motorhome and caravan adverts, powered by your lenders and interest rates. This enables you showcase your finance offers to the UK's largest audience of vehicle buyers much earlier in their purchase journey, before they secure a deal elsewhere.
Read on to learn about how it benefits both consumers and retailers, and what Auto Trader customers think about the addition of finance to their adverts.
Giving consumers better visibility of their buying options
Everything we do is designed to make buying and selling easier, connecting the right buyers to the right vehicles as quickly and easily as possible. We enable transparency and give buyers the information they need to feel confident in the buying decision by showing relevant results and useful information upfront to buyers. Finance calculators aim to do just that, enabling buyers to find the right vehicle for them, and delivering a more qualified lead to you as a result.
With more jobs now being completed digitally, buyers expect the same experience online as at your forecourt. Ensuring consistency and transparency with your finance offers is one way to keep up with this advancing consumer behaviour.
“We were keen to advertise our finance rates on our Auto Trader stock to make sure our customers are aware that finance is a purchase option. We have a range of different buyers through our door who see our stock online, so giving all options for purchasing upfront is important, especially during these times when cashflow can be an issue. This also helps manage the expectations of our customers as they have a better understanding of affordability when they approach us with a finance quote already filled out.”
-Mark Duncan, Sales Manager, Continental Leisure Vehicles
More opportunities to sell on finance
Based on what we are seeing on our platform, demand for motor finance continues to be robust. Finance is helpful to consumers in managing rising costs in the current market, and this has led to increasing levels of engagement with our finance products on Auto Trader.
In the leisure market specifically, new profiles of buyers for motorhomes and caravans have emerged since Covid, which brings ever-changing behaviours that retailers might not be used to. 20% of motorhome and caravan buyers on Auto Trader are looking to buy with finance, loan or credit, rather than outright, and 59% of these are looking to start researching finance options online.1 It’s vital to extend your reach to these customers who will give preference to retailers showing a finance calculator to ensure you don’t miss out to competitors.
“We see different demographics of consumers contacting us about purchasing and their buying decisions can differ. Whilst we see cash buyers who can use pension pots and available cash, we also see increasing numbers of couples in their mid-stages of life considering using finance as a part of their purchasing options. Our online presence is our shop window, and we want all consumers to know that finance is there for them and can consider a monthly cost that is suitable to their circumstances. A lot of customers will not investigate finance as an option until the figures have been given to them so being able to showcase our finance options across our online advertising is vitally important.”
- Dave Murden, Marketing Manager, Oaktree Motorhomes
More leads to you, the retailer
We are seeing strong consumer interaction with finance on our marketplace. Since launching in October, finance calculators on motorhome and caravan stock have attracted over 16,000 leads and interactions from buyers.2
How to enable finance calculators on your motorhome and caravan adverts
If you’re not already one of the 140 retailers promoting finance options on their leisure adverts,3 find out more about how to get started here and maximise your finance opportunities. If you're authorised by the FCA, then it's always your finance, your lenders, your rates. Plus, you can get started on a free trial up until 31st March 2024.
1 Auto Trader onsite survey to motorhome and caravan buyers, Dec 23
2 Auto Trader internal data, 16,007 finance leads and calculator interactions received on motorhome and caravan stock, 2nd Oct 23 – 28th Jan 24
3. Auto Trader internal data, Motorhome and caravan dealers with finance calculators as of 24th January 24.