Digital is revolutionising every aspect of car retailing

Digital platforms are changing every aspect of car sales from vehicle movements to how buyers view stock, believes Auto Trader business development director Ed Hummel.

He was speaking at the Motor Trader Summit which took place at Edgbaston.

He said that this was why Auto Trader was the UK’s 16th biggest website for page views, attracted 10m monthly unique users, listed 450,000 cars on a daily basis and was used by 80% of Britain’s vehicle retailers as an advertising platform.

“Whether you are buying your next washing machine, your next house, date, digital marketing is transforming those things,” he said.

Hummel said that Auto Trader’s online Motor Trade Delivery service had grown from a standing start four years ago to overseeing some 4,000 vehicle movements a week, run by more than 300 logistics companies and that the technology allowed participants to operate in closed groups and use Google map routing to provide live delivery time information.

The technology’s ability to match delivery vehicle movements with stock demand was a good example of its flexibility, he believed.

“It’s a matchmaking service,” he said, adding that the transportation needs of dealers, fleet and auction house clients could all be married up to increase vehicle movement efficiencies. Hummel said that the business was enjoying quarterly increases of some 20%.

“We think next year going to see further growth with enhanced logistics control, savings in cost, risk mitigation, and improved KPIs for savings and service providers,” said Hummel.

The Motor Trader Summit was themed around Profitable Digital Marketing in 2019 with sessions covering how dealers can optimise their digital spend, the effective use of CRM data, customer engagement and digital retailing and profitability.

The IMI accredited event included two keynote speaker sessions with Martin Sewell of the digital Rockar business and Ian Godbold of Cambria Automobiles giving presentations on key issues impacting dealers.

The event, attracting an audience of 150 included Q&A session offering delegates the chance to put their questions to the speaker line-up.