Interest in brand new cars is booming on carsales ahead of the summer peak car-buying season and is reflected in strong growth in audience and engagement for carsales editorial content on Australia’s #1 for cars, according to the latest data from Nielsen’s Digital Content Ratings Monthly report.
carsales Editorial Unique Audience, a key indicator of consumer interest in brand new cars, was up 82% year-on-year in November 2020 to 1.18M.¹ This reflects strong consumer engagement that spiked in the early months of the COVID pandemic Down Under and has continued since.
carsales Editorial Unique Audience growth comfortably outpaced that of CarsGuide (+24%) and CarAdvice (+24%), according to Nielsen.¹
With record used car prices, brand new cars offer solid value-for-money choice, with comprehensive manufacturer warranty and the latest equipment and safety features, included in the purchase price. Consumer sentiment is reflecting this fact.
With just one click on carsales.com.au, buyers can transition from researching a car via carsales editorial content, to enquiring on brand new cars in stock listed for sale by Australian dealers or the carsales New Car Showroom – all from the comfort of home.
carsales’ New Car Showroom listings saw the most growth with an increase in enquiries of 98% year on year.²
While Australians’ love affair with utes and SUVs continues, all vehicle types posted YoY growth in November 2020 with vans (+231.1%), wagons (+191.9%), coupes (+180%), and convertibles (+87.8%) in demand with new car shoppers.²
The increase in editorial engagement spells good news for Australian car dealers and brands heading into a summer tipped to be buoyant for car-buying activity. Macro trends stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic such as rising car usage and ownership, a boost in new licence holders and greater appetite for domestic and auto-based travel continue to fuel demand for cars.
“carsales is used by consumers across all stages of the car-buying journey which typically takes the average Australian consumer a little under three months. With fears about the shortage of new car inventory leading into summer dissipating, increased engagement with carsales Editorial content points to continued strong new car sales in January and February,” explains Agostino Giramondo, General Manager, New Car and Industry Relations at carsales.
Site wide, carsales’s Unique Audience grew 29% year-on-year to 4.53M in November 2020, outperforming the auto category’s 10% growth over the same period.¹
The result means that carsales Unique Audience is now 2.2X higher than its nearest competitor.¹
Furthermore, Australian consumers are spending twice as long browsing cars for sale, researching purchase options, and contacting dealers on carsales, compared to other automotive sites.
Sources:
1. Nielsen Digital Content Ratings Monthly, November 2020
2. carsales internal data, November 2020
Further reading
Why on earth are new car enquiries up 95% year on year?
No holiday for car buyers in Australia
Top search keywords – November 2020
