Dealers go digital during Lockdown 2:0

Dealers increased their proactive digital activity by a third in the first 10 days of the new lockdown in England.

According to research from iVendi, the number of proposed digital deals sent by car, van and motorcycle retailers to customers online using the company’s Transact product grew by 33% compared to the 10-day period before the new measures took effect on 5 November.

Meanwhile, the number of customers opening the deals also rose markedly, by 24%.

James Tew, CEO, 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 the 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, and 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% increase in deals being sent by dealers but the 24% rise in deals being opened by customers. 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.”