8:01 am, April 21, 2020
Used car marketplace heycar saw website traffic spike by 35 per cent week on week in the first two weeks of April – peaking on Easter Sunday and Monday.
It emphasised that maintaining interest was key, so to keep a pipeline of customers for the future it has included a ‘register interest’ button on all makes and models, meaning both heycar and the relevant dealership can keep in touch with them until the time is right to buy.
The button was introduced to the site a fortnight ago, and since then there has been a 40 per cent rise in users indicating their interest.
And it said that according to a recent survey, almost one in five of car buyers were set to make a purchase as soon as the Covid-19 lockdown is lifted.
Chief commercial officer Karen Hilton said she believed that savvy online dealerships that nurtured prospective customers in the medium term would emerge stronger on the other side of the coronavirus crisis.
She said: ‘It’s so interesting to look at the numbers of people who are coming on to the heycar site at this time. The visitors, the cars they’re browsing and the numbers who are registering interest suggests a pent-up desire to buy when the time’s right.
‘We might be living through extraordinary times, but the signs are there that the industry will be able to pivot back to better times later in the year. Right now, that means nurturing every possible lead and having the best possible online offering for people to find you when they are stuck at home on their laptops and phones.’
Heycar has signed up more than 3,700 dealerships to its network since launching last August, and has more than 200,000 cars on site.
The top five brands viewed on heycar over the week including the Easter weekend were Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Ford.
Hilton added: ‘Dealers who have warm leads can use this time to educate their customers on purchase options, finance and even the delivery options currently on offer.
‘Get to know the customer and their circumstances – that way you’ll know when they are in the position to buy.’
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