Representatives from the retail automotive world have been offering up their views and opinions on how the second half of 2022 will pan out on an Auto Retail Network webinar that AutoComms attended.
“For the past two years [the automotive industry] has been like a heavyweight boxing champion winning every bout and not training in between fights. What we have to do is get back to what we were doing prior to the pandemic,” explains Swansway Group’s Director, Peter Smyth, in a no-nonsense panel debate with other retail automotive leaders and Auto Trader.
It is Smyth’s view that the sector has been able to relax its focus on the “basics”, but it is now time to re-establish some of the more traditional practices that drove success pre-2020.
Because, he adds, demand remains high and those retailers who prioritise their used car pricing will reap the rewards during the second half of 2022.
“People are spending more time online looking and refining, honing the deal but the demand is still above the 2019 levels. It might be down 30% on last year but last year was like winning the EuroMillions, it was a one-off and it won’t happen again.”
Waylands CEO, John O’Hanlon strongly believes customer behaviour runs in parallel with the news being digested, but did add a positive note round conversion levels that should provide the sector with confidence in the second half of 2022.
“So many headwinds following a period of significant tailwinds. Consumers are reacting to the news that is out there, fuel prices, energy prices which effects when they shop and when they buy. We have seen enquiry level drop off, although conversion levels have remained strong. There are serious buyers out here,” he comments.
Extended lead times
Beyond the panel of experts’ comments, where do you see the challenges and opportunities in the short term?
Where new cars are concerned, the stock and supply issue will remain a challenge and it will be the forward-thinking retailers who maintain a strong level of communication with their customers during the ever-increasing order to handover space that handles this challenge in the best way possible.
As has been well-documented by the AutoComms team, the extended lead times problem will manifest itself in a number of ways, including a drop in customer satisfaction, failed upsell opportunities and, potentially, deals failing before the handover date is reached.
Data coming out of automated communication platform, AutoBuzz, that specialises in engaging customers between the critical point of order and handover, has shown that customers are five times more active than many retailers can currently identify.
This suggests that this period of time, which can be up to 12 months, represents a significant opportunity for those retailers looking to increase revenue and remain as competitive as possible in the second half of 2022 and beyond.
If you’d like to demo the platform, simply click here to book your series of emails that will present the ‘customer experience’ that AutoBuzz offers.
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