Car enquiries slump by 17%
Automotive retailers experienced a 17.4% drop in new car enquiries during the first quarter of 2023.
This is according to the latest data from automotive showroom management provider, Dealerweb, and marks the second successive quarter of declining new car leads, following a 30.1% fall, year-on-year, from October to December 2022.
Steve Thomas, sales director at Dealerweb, said: “The SMMT has highlighted how fleet demand has driven registrations over recent months, and that is echoed in our dealer enquiry data. With fewer retail enquiries than in previous years dealers need to make the most of every lead they receive, using all of the tools at their disposal to respond to enquiries as quickly and effectively as possible.”
Meanwhile, CitNOW Group research highlights the importance of response times, with a quarter (24%) of consumers saying they would expect a dealer to respond within 30 minutes of an initial enquiry. Two thirds (65%) of consumers would expect a dealership to respond to them via the same method of communication as they used.
Dealerweb’s React lead management platform collates all online leads and can provide an immediate response and coupled with Dealerweb showroom for efficient sales management to help retailers manage communication via the customer’s preferred channel, and ensures that every lead is captured and scheduled for follow-up.
