12:25 pm, June 18, 2020
Auto Trader has brought in a home delivery option as part of its Vehicle Moves platform.
Dealers can now deliver directly to car buyers’ homes, with Auto Trader calculating that could save them £31 per move on average.
It added that it had launched the option to help dealers adapt to the changing retail landscape, and comes as Auto Trader’s latest consumer research highlighted that while showrooms in England and Northern Ireland had reopened, more than a third (37 per cent) of car buyers said they’d be unlikely or very unlikely to visit in person.
The UserZoom survey of 300 people conducted between June 2 and 3 also revealed that 36 per cent would feel comfier completing a transaction made on the phone or online with a home delivery service.
The Vehicle Moves platform is available free to independent retailers and single-site franchised retailers via their Portal account, and Auto Trader customers can list their logistics requirements, including directly to or from customers’ homes.
Jobs are bid on by more than 300 suppliers, boasting some 600 vehicle transporters and 1,600 drivers, which Auto Trader said had shown that at a time when profit margins were more important than ever, dealers could save on average £31 for each vehicle move, adding that last year they saved more than £4m.
Ed Hummel, Auto Trader director, said: ‘We know our customers are facing a very different retail landscape to the one they’re used to, and with it a host of unique challenges.
‘To return to profit, retailers need to be able to adapt quickly to changing consumer expectations.
‘The introduction of a B2C option in Vehicle Moves enables all retailers, regardless of size, a cost-effective and convenient way to offer a home delivery option for a significant customer base, which at a time of such uncertainty, very few can afford to lose.’
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