Auto Trader : fuels consumer sourced stock channel with £100 cash incentive

Press release Auto Trader fuels consumer sourced stock channel with £100 cash incentive 18th Aug 2021

Auto Trader is set to unlock even more consumer sourced stock for retailers by providing consumers with a £100 extra cash incentive for any vehicle part-exchanged with a retailer using Auto Trader's Guaranteed Part-Exchange service or sold through its consumer facing Instant Cash Offer platform. It's the first time Auto Trader has directly contributed towards its retailer partners' marketing activity.

As of this month, in addition to the 30,000 vehicles privately advertised on Auto Trader, stock acquired through Guaranteed Part-Exchange and Instant Cash Offer will be exclusively listed on the Dealer Auction platform. These are all part of Auto Trader's steps to provide a profitable new channel for retailers to source vital new stock.

Running from the 23^rd August until the autumn, the £100 extra cash offer will be available to all consumers completing a Guaranteed Part-Exchange through a retailer on Auto Trader's platforms or a sale through the Instant Cash Offer service. As well as digital media activity and CRM targeting its 2.1 million social media followers and email subscribers, the offer will be promoted directly via the Auto Trader website and app (15 million downloads). In July, Auto Trader recorded circa 67.5 million visits across its platforms.

Major marketing campaign set to drive huge consumer awareness

The activity will complement Auto Trader's major new marketing campaign which launched earlier this month and is designed to raise awareness amongst millions of consumers about the ease of selling their car via Instant Cash Offer. A variety of adverts narrated by the acclaimed British actor, Jennifer Saunders, will be shown across ITV channels over the next two months, as well as ITV Hub and digital channels including YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. They will also be promoted through Auto Trader's consumer email programme which has an audience of over one million.

In just three months the Instant Cash Offer proposition has seen a 14% increase in the number of enquiries made through the service, and a 31% uptick in the number of vehicles sold by consumers. It provides consumers with a more convenient alternative to selling privately, with a 'no-haggle' cash price for their car, free home collection, no administration fees and immediate payment as soon as the offer is accepted. Unlike alternative car buying services, all the vehicles sold through this channel are put straight back into the retailer market via Dealer Auction.

Commenting on the new offer, Auto Trader's commercial product director, Karolina Edwards-Smajda, said: 'Despite the incredible levels of consumer demand that we're all seeing in the market, due to supply constraints in both new and used, retailers are effectively having to operate with one hand tied behind their backs. We saw an opportunity to open a much-needed supply channel and unlock thousands of consumer sourced vehicles which have traditionally been very difficult, time consuming or costly to acquire. By offering a cash incentive, coupled with a major new marketing campaign targeting millions of consumers, we're aiming to put even more stock back into the hands of retailers, and to help them get the very best out of such unprecedented market conditions.'

Both the Instant Cash Offer service and Guaranteed Part-Exchange product are powered by Auto Trader's award-winning valuations and are underwritten by Manheim Auction Services, a part of Cox Automotive UK. The consumer sourced stock will be listed on the Dealer Auction platform under AT Consumer Sourced and participating customers of Guaranteed Part-Exchange will be provided with subscription-free access[1]to this stock.

All of Auto Trader's car retailer partners can now sign up to get their first 60 days of Guaranteed Part-Exchange free here.

[1]Access does not include the ability to list stock. Auction fees and associated transportation costs will still apply