A message from our CEO
At Autotrader, our success is built on listening to our customers and acting on what matters most. Your feedback genuinely shapes what we do, and I want to make sure your voice is front and centre as we move forward.
You told us you want to be part of our product thinking and decision making much earlier. We’ve listened. Which is why we’ve launched the first of our Customer Advisory Groups – to give retailers of all sizes the chance to share their thoughts and help shape our products.
Last time I talked about how we’re acting on the feedback you’ve given us. Today I want to share some of the steps we’re taking to keep that promise.
Reservation changes
Reservations remain the best-performing enquiry on Autotrader, with many retailers converting over 80% into sales. They were developed through retailer input and extensive research into the buying journey. Our data shows that more than two in three buyers are open to reserving online, and 91% don’t submit any other enquiries for at least 24 hours after reserving. This shows that reservations signal the strongest intent and deliver more committed, more confident buyers to retailers.
But we’ve listened and we know that this approach might mean changes to internal processes for some retailers, so we’re working on an alternative option – a Reservation Request. This will allow the buyer to “request” a reservation without paying a £99 reservation fee. So status of the stock in your system or in Portal won’t change, the vehicle won’t show as “reservation in progress” and it will be up to the retailer to contact the buyer and agree next steps, through your normal lead management approach.
Right now we’re working through this solution and will continue to refine what it looks like in partnership with our Customer Advisory Groups. But just to be clear: if you’re not already on Deal Builder, you won’t be moved until we’ve explained the new option, answered your questions and given you time to decide which version works best for you.
More product developments on the way
Reservations are just one part of the feedback you’ve shared. We’re already working on other product improvements based on what you’ve told us matters most to you. This includes changing some of the language we use – we know we’ve caused confusion with how we’ve talked about deals and emails. So we’re changing this to be clear that what we’re delivering is leads – deals and emails will be listed as “Online leads”, with a breakdown of all the various actions.
We’re also in the early stages of looking at how a variable reservation fee could work for different retailers. We’ll share more details on how we plan to take action.
Thanks for continuing to share your thoughts and ideas. I hope you all have a restful holiday season and I look forward to seeing many of you at the Customer Advisory Groups in January to continue this conversation.
