Selling cars online has been an important part of the business for the best part of the past 20 years. The pandemic served to ram home that fact: with dealership footfall nixed overnight, the web transformed from a useful asset to a lifeline.
Yet despite the colossal shift in the sales process over the past few years – accelerated by the advent of online car supermarkets and subscription models – many are missing out on an allegedly transformative opportunity afforded by video.
Johan Sundstrand, CEO of marketing and artificial intelligence agency Phyron, told Autocar Business that adding a video to an online advert provides “20-25% more leads”.
Discussing classifieds hosting platform Adevinta, Sundstrand said: “If they attached a Phyron video to their ad, they received 50% more visits, and they sold their cars three to five days faster, depending on brand.”
Accelerating the turnover also saves “a lot of money”, according to Sundstrand – €25-€65 (£22-£57) per car, per day, adding up to significant savings across a fleet.
But even for cars that do not sell quickly, videos still have tangible benefits for branding. Phyron’s research suggests that ad viewers remember 95% of a listing with a video message, compared with 10% of one with static images.
Phyron’s claimed success with video is consistent with that seen across the industry.
Video platform Citnow’s former partner, Leven Car Group, tripled its sales between 2015 – when it introduced video advertising – and 2018, according to a statement.
Roddy McAllister, then head of sales at Leven, said: “Embracing video has helped us sell more cars to a broader audience, while delivering the outstanding personal experience our customers expect.
“The ability to visually communicate the intricate details that make our used cars truly exciting has been invaluable and made a tangible impact on the business.”
Add your comment