Car dealer digital activity rose by a third during the first 10 days of England’s second lockdown, says iVendi.
The connected motor retail company has also revealed that the number of customers opening the deals rose significantly as well – up by 24 per cent.
Car, van and motorcycle retailers in England were forced to shut their physical doors from November 5 to December 2.
Since the new lockdown was imposed, the number of proposed digital deals sent to customers online via iVendi’s Transact product grew by 33 per cent compared with the 10 days leading up to November 5, said the firm.
James Tew, chief executive of iVendi, said: ‘One of the big trends of the year, as dealers have reacted to the coronavirus crisis, is the way in which they are using online tools available to them in a much more proactive manner, as these new figures illustrate.
‘Because of the imposition of lockdowns, they’ve become adept at changing the emphasis between showroom and digital activity.
‘The increase in digital deals being sent over the last week or so shows how quickly they are now capable of moving from one to the other.
‘However, what is perhaps the most interesting aspect of these statistics is not the 33 per cent increase in deals being sent by dealers but the 24 per cent rise in deals being opened by customers.’
As a goodwill gesture, iVendi has been providing dealers with Transact at no extra charge since its introduction in April.
Tew added: ‘The more deals that dealers send, the more that customers open it appears.
‘This shows how this proactive approach to digital is providing a valuable new sales channel during difficult trading conditions.’
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