By David Toscano, Trade Content Editor, carsales.com.au
Strong car-shopping activity continued in June on carsales.com.au – Australia’s #1 for cars.
According to carsales internal data, Australian car-shoppers undertook 33 million sessions in June 2020, up 26% on the same month last year.¹
82 million detailed views of inventory were undertaken an increase of 38% on the same month last year.¹
“Strong car-shopping momentum has continued in June as social distancing measures were relaxed across most of Australia,” stated Kellie Cordner, Chief Marketing Officer at carsales.
“There was genuine intent to buy in June, which was also reflected in improving VFACTS results.”
June was a strong month for new cars on carsales – over three-quarters of all brands posted an increase in views compared to May 2020, and 85% of all brands realised an increase in sales enquiries. ¹
Mitsubishi and Mazda lead the industry with the biggest increases in sales enquiries on new cars in June, up 32% and 25% respectively.¹
“June is traditionally a strong month for new-car shopping activity on carsales as high-profile retail campaigns funnel buyers to auto destinations they know and trust,” says Jeremy Moger, Head of Insights at carsales.
SUVs continued to appeal to prospective buyers. Sales enquiries for new cars in the SUV Medium <$60k segment increased 37% compared to the previous month.¹
And hot end of financial year deals saw Australia’s favourite new-car segment on carsales, Light Commercial PU/CC 4x4, increase sales enquiries by 19% compared to May.¹
Five interesting insights from June car-shopping activity:
1. Engagement with carsales Editorial content continues to grow
Engagement with carsales Editorial content continued to grow at a strong rate. carsales editorial sessions were up 64% on June 2019 to 2.9M.¹ Overall, over 6.2M editorial pages were consumed on carsales in the month.¹
2. There’s an influx of first-time car buyers in the market
There are growing opportunities for brands and dealers to target Australians new to the Australian car market and embarking on a car-buying journey for the first time.
The latest onsite carsales survey of over 6000 Australian consumers between June 26 – July 2 revealed that almost a quarter of respondents (23%) were either new licence holders or waiting to undertake licence testing.
Almost 43% of new licence holders also agreed that COVID-19 accelerated their need to get their driver licence.
3. Shoppers are spending more time per session on carsales
Australian consumers are spending more time searching across different brands and models, browsing relevant search results, evaluating purchase options and reading the latest reviews and news at carsales. The average consumer now spends an average of 7 minutes and 39 seconds per session on carsales – up 4.1% on June 2019.¹
4. carsales App notifications keep dealer inventory and communication highly visible
With more and more consumers preferring the ease, accessibility and flexibility of their smartphones for online shopping and research, it’s little surprise that the carsales app has become a hot commodity post Easter as car-shopping activity has increased.
Back in mid-May, the carsales iOS was even trending as a top 5 app on the App Store. In June, mobile app notifications contributed to nearly 4 million user sessions in June.¹
carsales mobile app notifications engage prospective buyers at the pointy end of their car purchase journey, helping to ensure that relevant dealer inventory and key communication is highly visible to consumers.
5. Australians can’t wait for the next Toyota LandCruiser
Whether it’s a love of the great outdoors or their work-and-play flexibility, Australians love 4x4s and SUVs – and especially one with a historic presence in the local car market.
The new Toyota LandCruiser is one such vehicle and is eagerly awaited by Australian car shoppers.
The most popular articles in June focused on the upcoming next-generation LandCruiser, including ‘Toyota LandCruiser 300 series just months away’ and ‘Toyota LandCruiser 300 series Rugged X on the cards’. The articles achieved over 91K and 73K editorial sessions respectively.¹
The LandCrusier was the fifth most searched new car in May on carsales.
Advice for dealers in Victoria
Despite the reintroduction of anti-COVID stay-at-home measures in Victoria, car buyers will still be active browsing dealer inventory on carsales.
“In March and April, concerns around the safety of public transport and ride-sharing services saw intention to purchase a vehicle increase, as measured by carsales consumer surveys,” says Michael Holmes.
“We may again see a similar uptick over the coming weeks.”
So, as some consumers may be reluctant to visit Victorian dealerships during the period of restrictions, dealers are encouraged to again make best use of digital ‘virtual showroom’ tools and publicise the availability of buy from home services across your inventory comments, website, social media, auto responses and through the carsales badges enhancement.
These include:
Activating the ‘Buy from Home’ badge on applicable inventory
Uploading video to your inventory through AutoGate
Utilising video calls in place of on-site inspections
Utilising RedBook Inspect services for remote and ‘at-home’ trade-in valuations
Optimising your use of AutoGate to follow up ‘uncontacted’ and ‘lost’ prospects
Publicising your Covid-19 policy in your inventory comments, website and social media channels
Overall, the use of these tools during the lockdown period spanning March-May helped deliver greater peace of mind for buyers and helped facilitate many sales transactions.
“Many dealers did a great job in highlighting their commitment to customer and staff hygiene and safety prior during the first lockdown period,” says Holmes.
“Victorian dealers should continue to use digital tools and communication channels to underline to buyers that they are open for business and able to facilitate a hygienic and safe sales transaction,” concluded Holmes.
A prominent message to reinforce to car shoppers that Victorian dealers are open for business will now appear on the carsales.com.au homepage.
Source: 1. carsales internal data, June 2020