Dealers should be ensuring their social media activity is at its best over the festive period, according to new research into customer buying habits.
Research from automotive digital marketing specialist Marketing Delivery has found that not only are potential car buyers becoming increasingly receptive to targeted social media advertisements to help guide their purchase decisions, searches for potential replacement vehicles ramp up sharply in the final week of the year.
The company evaluated consumer activity on the websites of motor retailers across the UK and identified that all those in its sample experienced increases in traffic, month-on-month, during the final week of December 2023.
In one instance, the increase was more than 126%, encouraged by the retailer’s adoption of automated email and social media campaigns to support sales activity over the Christmas period.
This momentum in activity continues into the New Year – enquiries for new and used cars among Marketing Delivery’s client increased sharply – on average by 49% – during the first week of January 2024 compared to the final week of December 2023.
These results come as further research by the digital specialist revealed the increasing importance of social media advertising for dealers. In a survey completed by 1,000 UK car buyers, 40% either ‘completely agreed’ or ‘somewhat agreed’ that relevant advertisements from vehicle dealers on social media platforms would influence their decision to purchase a vehicle from them.
This figure shows a significantly increase over a similar survey carried out in 2022, when just over a quarter (26%) of prospective car buyers agreed with the same statement.
Receptiveness to social media advertising, according to the survey, is perhaps not surprisingly most prevalent among younger car buyers, with 59% of 17 to 25-year-olds agreeing with the statement, compared to 17% of those aged 66 to 75 years old.
Responding to the research Marketing Delivery chief executive Jeremy Evans commented that motor retailers need to plan for the significant increase in digital activity over the festive and New Year period, when many consumers spend more time online looking for offers and incentives.
“With many retailers scaling back their staffing levels, digital tools can shoulder the burden of engaging with prospects proactively and reactively, and channelling leads for conversion by sales teams in the New Year,” Evans added.
