10:15 am, August 15, 2017
AUTO Trader has signed a major partnership with global online business review company Trustpilot.
The deal means tens of thousands of historic as well as new reviews written about UK car dealerships and the vehicles they have for sale will be made available to Auto Trader users.
The online classified advertising business said that as people increasingly move to buying cars online, the additional, trusted, information offered by user-generated reviews was becoming more important in the automotive industry.
Karolina Edwards-Smajda, pictured, Auto Trader’s retailer and consumer product director, said: ‘Impartial dealer reviews can be incredibly influential for consumers when searching for their next car. That’s why we launched our review platform back in 2015, which has since become a hugely effective channel for dealers to build trust with potential car buyers and demonstrate value beyond price alone.
‘We now have over 6,000 dealers with over 350,000 reviews on our marketplace. This important partnership with Trustpilot will not only further enhance the buying experience for consumers on Auto Trader, but will also help our dealer customers convert site visits to forecourt visits.’
Recent research commissioned by Trustpilot and undertaken by the Centre for Economic and Business Research forecast that 20 per cent of all cars in the UK are expected to be sold online by 2027, shifting £41 billion of automotive revenue to that platform.
Neil Bayton, partner director of Trustpilot, said: ‘As automotive commerce moves online the industry must embrace e-commerce best practices. Engaging with user-generated feedback has proved to be one of the most effective ways for dealers to build trust, as we’ve seen in other digital industries.
‘We’re delighted to bring the power of Trustpilot’s reviews directly to the UK’s flagship automotive marketplace so people can more effectively share how they feel about cars and the purchasing experience.’
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