Keep turning searches into sales

attract, engage, convert

Automotive retailing is challenging at times; especially through change. Our industry is experiencing the most significant period of change in its existence and at a rapid pace; driven by technology, sustainability and a global pandemic. We’re here to ensure you can cut through those challenges by delivering the tools that make retailing possible today and easier for tomorrow. It’s why we’re bringing you new digital features and insights that help you attract, engage and convert more searches to sales on Auto Trader.

We’ve broken it down into these 3 easy to digest sections that will help you improve your digital forecourt and conversion to keep selling online.

attract
Attract

The more buyers you can attract to your adverts, the more likely you are to increase engagement and conversion to sales.

Find out more
engage
Engage

Discover ways we’re helping you build more engaging adverts, so buyers spend more time browsing your vehicles.

Find out more
convert
Convert

Offering more ways to buy means you can prevent losing sales - turning more clicks to customers.

Find out how

How buyer behaviour has changed

2020 forced fundamental change to how consumers search, view and buy products. As seen in other retail sectors, buyers are shifting increasingly towards online shopping experiences rather than shopping in-store. The pace of this change has increased significantly as a result of the pandemic and the reality is that as consumers become more familiar with the benefits of interacting with sellers online, it’s unlikely they will revert to their old shopping habits, creating a need to react and keep pace. But online shopping doesn’t suit everybody, especially when it comes to buying a vehicle. This makes it important to cater to all buyer types to maximise your opportunities to sell. That’s a challenge with the current national restrictions, but we’ve provided some guidance on how to manage different buyer types from proactive showroom visitors to digital adopters in the current market where retailers are forced to close.

  • Small, but rapidly growing portion of the market
  • Want to complete entire process online
  • Will look for exhaustive levels of quality content and transparency and expect protections such as no-obligation returns
  • Provide all information about the vehicle and the deal online
  • Ensure images and videos are high quality and available to self-serve
  • Enable home delivery and click and collect with full payment and finance options available online
  • Tell the customer their rights regarding returns
  • Want to complete a lot of the process online to be “purchase ready”
  • Forecourt visit for test drive and collection
  • Need most information online but prefer physical inspection as final check
  • Provide as much information about the vehicle and the deal as possible
  • High quality imagery to bring the showroom experience online
  • Enable click & collect with a part payment
  • Offer a live video viewing to replace their preferred physical inspection
  • Do some digital research but seek face-to-face advice
  • Still need human reassurance and interaction
  • Qualify the purchase by visiting the premises, seeing and feeling the product
  • Likely to be a walk-in or early stage research enquiry wanting 1:1 interaction
  • Suggest taking a refundable deposit or reservation fee to secure the car
  • Arrange a viewing date once your forecourt is able to reopen and it is safe to do so

Be customer-centric for success in 2021

Retailers have a key role to play to ensure their online processes work as seamlessly as their offline processes. The goal is to give consumers choice and make buying easier; choice in how and when they interact, choice in how they sell their old vehicle and choice in how they buy and receive their next vehicle. To deliver a true customer-centric service, consumers should be able to complete as much or as little of their journey online as they choose, with a seamless transition between online and offline at the point they choose to interact or buy. In the current lockdown situation, some buyers will be unwilling to commit to a purchase online, but you can use the opportunity to build pipeline demand until the point you are able to reopen showroom doors. Suggest taking a reservation fee to secure a vehicle until such time as the buyer can view the vehicle.

You can view our latest Market Report which goes into more detail or view our simple guide to catering to all buyer types.

View the report

Fundamentals of advertising on Auto Trader

There are some fundamental elements of advertising on any digital marketplace, which our team of experts have been working with our customers to perfect over the years. We’ve updated our best practice guide which you can think of as the ultimate guide to being successful on Auto Trader.

View Auto Trader Handbook

We’ve also created a series of Retailer Performance Masterclasses (RPM). RPM is a new online learning centre for retailers, complete with bitesize masterclasses to help improve business profitability across the automotive ecosystem from sourcing the right stock, to pricing to market and expertly advertising your stock. It’s available on demand, 24/7 and completely free of charge.

Visit RPM

Need support?

Request your free consultation today. One of our experts will review how well you’re set up on Auto Trader to attract, engage and convert searches into sales:

Complete the form and we’ll be in touch

or call 0330 098 5874

  • Monday to Friday
  • 09.00 - 17.30