Retail’s back: new car response skyrockets in June
It’s been a challenging few months. Hardly the year we’d all been hoping for. Many retailers are anxious to get back on track, keen to recuperate lost sales. But amidst the uncertainty, we’re seeing good signs. Signs that the demand for new cars is bouncing back - and some.
As many retailers reopened in June, the opportunity for new cars was bigger than it’s ever been. Over 1.4 million users viewed a new vehicle over the course of the month. This marked, not only a 36% uplift on May, but a record number of new car browsers. In real terms, this translated to 5.6 million advert views on new car stock.(1)
This huge opportunity didn’t go unnoticed. The number of new cars and vans advertised also grew to over 55,000. And for many, it paid off. Auto Trader’s 1,600+ new car retailers enjoyed a massive 91% monthly increase in leads. This record number of leads also represents an even bigger 206% increase year-on-year from June 2019.(1)
And these opportunities aren’t just limited to new cars. It’s clear new van shoppers are rapidly returning to enquire about new vans following showrooms reopening. We’ve seen a 93% increase in advert views from March to June.
June was also the strongest month for new van leads, with a 38% uplift, smashing May’s record month and a year on year increase of 255%(1). Daily new van leads volumes have also been breaking pre-lockdown levels almost every day since click and collect was permitted.
OEM integrations have accelerated
Behind the scenes, OEMs are also working hard to ensure their networks can make their new car advertising as enticing as possible.
Volvo, Renault, Dacia, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Abarth and Alpine are now offering the ability to show finance offers on over 8,000 new cars. This has enabled their networks to make the most of Auto Trader’s unique finance search functionality. Allowing buyers to get an accurate payment estimate whilst browsing online.
Whilst it’s difficult to know exactly what the future of the next few months will hold, we’re confident that there’s never been a better time to advertise your new cars with Auto Trader.
Want to drive more leads?
If you're wondering how to deliver an online experience to shoppers that meets their expectations when buying a brand new car, our advice would be to focus on quality.
The old saying "a picture tells a thousand words" is highly relevant. That means displaying multiple photos of the vehicle advertised. Retailers displaying 10 or more images of their vehicles enjoy seven times more response than retailers displaying just four configurator images.
The top performing retailers on Auto Trader influence 50% of their new car sales advertised with us(2). So, by pulling the lever on quality, your opportunity to beat your new car targets are massive. You can see more advice about best practice here.
Sources: (1) Google Analytics data. (2) Auto Trader internal analysis, September 2019. Percentage is an average based on total new car sales by the top 10% performing retailers (a sample size of 2,291 new car sales). Performance is determined using the number of new car sales influenced through Auto Trader. Data based on retailers who have Auto Trader’s new car product and provided sales data for the relevant period. Influence is determined by matching consumer behaviour on Auto Trader with the relevant retailer sales data.