1:59 pm, November 17, 2023
This year’s Christmas lull could be exacerbated by cost of living crisis says industry expert, as some car dealerships report an even quieter than normal November.
Dermot Kelleher, interim marketing director at Heycar, spoke on the Car Dealer Podcast about how typically demand does begin to slow from November ahead of Christmas.
He said: ‘I was in a meeting yesterday where we were looking at the the historic search demand data.
‘This is how search might affect the amount of traffic you might expect from organic or how expensive the terms might be when you’re buying them on paid media, and interestingly like November’s always quite bad. There is a seasonal dip.
‘I think everyone thinks December is when the the kind of the consumer demand trails off but actually November’s sort of drops quite significantly relative to October and I guess that’s normally because people are prepping for Christmas.’
On the show, this time with Jon Reay and James Baggott, the Car Dealer founder explained how he had spoken to dealers during the week who had found the month incredibly quiet.
Kelleher added: ‘[Ahead of Christmas], mental capacity goes into where are we going, who’s driving where, like how, who’s getting which presents and so on and so forth and.
‘I wonder if that’s exacerbated this year by cost of living as well things being more difficult so people are doing more. You know, trying to get the right present, pay the right amount and so maybe we’re seeing something more, more more pronounced this year, but it’s actually always quite a drop.’
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On this episode of the podcast, the trio discussed the biggest UK dealers in Europe, what Constellation group has been up to in the week plus used car prices falling, and you can find out more about all of the stories mentioned by clicking below.
- Cinch and We Buy Any Car owner increases its stake in Vertu Motors again
- Marshall Motor Group sees profit nearly halve in first year under Constellation ownership
- Five UK car dealers named in Top 10 of largest groups in Europe – the Top 20 list revealed
- Mazda announces record profits for first half of the year as sales of CX-60 go through the roof
- Cap HPI issues stark warning as used car prices fall further 1.5% in just 10 days
- Big Motoring World opens new headquarters in Kent to support growth of car buying business
- Used supercar dealer Tom Hartley’s case discontinued by Serious Fraud Office in court
- Used car dealer jailed for 12 years as he admits masterminding £7m ‘Deliveroo drugs ring’
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