Robert Forrester Speaks About Retail's Return In Auto Trader Webinar
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This week Robert Forrester spoke with Auto Trader's Chief Operating Officer, Catherine Faiers, about what business has been like since reopening and the automotive industry in the coming months as a result of COVID-19.
Below you’ll find Robert’s interview in full, in addition to the highlights of the Q and A:
Highlights To Note:
- - Generally, everyone has been surprised about the overall level of demand and June was much better than we expected
- - Retail demand for new cars is robust. SMMT figures reflect the understandable lack of pre-reg activity at quarter end
- - Internet leads up significantly and phone leads up 50% YoY
- - Walk-ins starting to come back as we begin to see the semblance of normal consumer behaviour
- - Increases in disposable income and cash balances for consumers driving demand as consumers opt for car purchases over holidays
- - Scottish dealerships performing well. Top performing used car operation in the last two weeks was Glasgow Central Nissan
- - Constrained supply and high demand are driving prices up
- - If used car operators aren’t seeing almost record margins, they’ve got their pricing wrong
- - Retailers should hold firm on pricing at point of sale, especially if supply and sourcing is a challenge
- - High demand likely to push through until September, Q4 likely to be more of a challenging period for the industry
- - Older used cars are an area of focus to capitalise on people looking for an alternative to public transport
- - Pure online sales likely to be a slow process. 56 online sales in June from 8,000 total. Digitisation is more about choice for the consumer and driving efficiencies
- - Artificial intelligence is key to driving efficiencies in lead management
- - Leicester struggling for sales despite being allowed to stay open.