UK set for Summer staycations in 2020

As we reported at the start of May, after a decline in audience immediately following the lockdown announcement, users to Auto Trader Motorhome and Caravan has been steadily increasing. Week commencing 18th May, users across the two platforms had grown by 17% versus the same time last year and had more than doubled since the week immediately following lockdown.

Thanks to strong engagement on the site and a clear pent up demand, this audience is also translating into advert views, email leads and calls. 

To understand more about the growth in audience and engagement, we recently surveyed 2,000 UK adults to understand their travel plans and their attitudes towards holidaying. 40% of those surveyed said that if the government guidelines allow them to, they will be planning a staycation in the UK this year. Of those planning a staycation, 51% said they would consider a caravan or motorhome, with this rising to 60% among 25-34 year olds.

The trend for caravans and motorhomes seems to be driven by a need to feel safer. 37% said staying in one would mean they could sanitise the environment properly themselves, to limit the spread of germs from those outside their family.

A further 34% are interested in being able to better manage social distancing, as they would be the only people staying in it and 22% feel a caravan or motorhome would allow them to avoid busier areas and environments.

For many, these factors offer valuable reassurance – 29% say they would feel more confident about going on holiday during a pandemic if they were staying in a caravan or motorhome. 

To complement our newly launched marketing campaign, we have used this research to highlight the advantages of a caravan or motorhome as an option for holidays across various media titles. This has been supported with on-site editorial, communications with our registered users via CRM and lots of activity on our social channels.   

Keep your eyes out for more over the coming days and weeks, and continue to make good use of our new retail ready features to gain consumers’ confidence – it’s clear there are lots of engaged buyers actively looking for their next caravan or motorhome.