Car-shopping activity is running hot across Australia as concerns around the hygiene of public transport and ridesharing services, in addition to an influx of new licence holders and first-time car buyers, sends more consumers into the car market.
carsales.com.au posted a Unique Audience (UA) of 4.65m in August according to Nielsen’s Digital Content Ratings Monthly report. The August result was 30% higher than the same month in 2019.
And Australians are more eager to buy new cars than at any time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest carsales consumer survey data – helping to send used-car prices to a 13-month high.
So given buoyant car shopping, discover three key lessons for car dealers and brands from August activity on Australia’s #1 for cars:
1. Car shoppers are mobile-first
Despite social distance measures keeping more consumers across the country at home, 80% of traffic to carsales in August still came via mobile devices.¹
With prospective buyers preferring to access carsales.com.au via mobile, effective opportunities to influence their decisions include the use of Promote and Promote Automation to rank inventory in the prime positions of a buyer’s relevant search results, and seamlessly amplifying video creative (such as social media or TV creative) within search results to build more awareness and consideration of your dealership or brand.
2. SMS enquiries stabilise
With mobile browsers and carsales apps the dominant sources of traffic to dealer inventory, it’s no surprise that 27% of sales enquiries in August were sent to dealers via SMS.¹
Despite this, the proportion of enquiries from SMS has remained relatively stable over the past year. In July 2019, 28% of enquiries sent to dealers were submitted via SMS, while the medium made up 29% of enquiries in October 2019, 28% in January 2020 and 29% in May 2020.²
When it comes to effective follow up from buyer enquiries, every minute counts. Aim to contact prospective buyers within 30 minutes and ascertain their specific and unique needs. Tools such as the AutoGate Mobile App which enables easy SMS communication, and SMS and email auto-responses, can assist dealers with timely follow-up.
Quick and effective follow up is especially critical on a Saturday where there is a greater chance that the prospective buyer is available to make an appointment and even conclude a deal on the day.
The most effective way to get in touch with a prospective buyer is to use the same communication channel that they used to submit their sales enquiry. That means responding to an email enquiry with an email, an SMS enquiry with an SMS and a phone call enquiry with a phone call.
For example, if you respond to an SMS enquiry with an email, there is a greater chance that the prospective buyer will not see your response. Many consumers will not have their email notifications switched on, or regularly check their email account, particularly on a Saturday.
3. Your showroom is open 24/7
A presence on carsales means that you’re open for business 24/7. With car buying now involving a laptop perched at the dinner table, or relaxation with the smartphone on the couch, consumers are visiting carsales and engaging with dealer inventory at all times of the day and night.
45% of carsales shoppers in August contacted a dealer outside of traditional 9am – 5pm business hours.¹
For dealers, it’s important to have strategies in place that immediately acknowledge a buyer enquiry outside of your business hours, such as auto responses via SMS and email. Staggering your staffing hours may also enable you to better cater to these shoppers.
Further reading:
Federal budget delivers mixed news for car dealers
Kia threatens to overtake Ford and Mitsubishi sales
VFACTS September: Ford Ranger reclaims top spot
Tesla approaching 10,000 sales in Australia
Source:
1. carsales internal data, August 2020
2. carsales internal data, October 2019 – May 2020
