Make more profit per vehicle – Pricing with confidence in today’s market

In today’s fast-moving market dynamics, success hinges not just on pricing accuracy, but on a retailer's ability to interpret and act on numerous data points with confidence.

From sourcing to sale, retailers must consider everything from market volatility and live-market valuations to optional specification and advert quality.

In this blog, we’ll break down key insights discussed in our recent webinar to help you maximise margins and optimise stock decisions.

The Power of Pricing Confidence

Retailers often ask how they can best utilise Auto Trader’s Price Indicators. The short answer? Confidence. These indicators, which update daily, provide a real-time snapshot of where a vehicle stands in the market. It isn’t about rigidly chasing a label like "Good" or "Great" – it’s about using that knowledge to make informed decisions.

This emphasises a wider principle: use Price Indicators not as targets, but as tools to build pricing confidence. When you’re confident in the data, pricing decisions can become proactive rather than reactive, enabling your stock to turn faster, with stronger margins.

Retail Rating: Your Barometer for Margin Potential

Retail Rating reflects a vehicle’s demand potential in a specific market, adjusted for location. A higher Retail Rating indicates stronger market conditions – lower supply, higher demand, and faster speed of sale. This metric becomes crucial when balancing your desired margin and optimal speed of sale.

Highly Retail Rated vehicles typically offer more margin flexibility. The market demand takes care of speed, allowing you to hold pricing with greater confidence. Conversely, lower Retail Rated vehicles may still be worth stocking but understand that price may need to be used as a lever to drive interest.

 

Spec Matters: Getting Specific with VIN Data

Specifications can make or break your pricing strategy. A high-spec BMW X5, for instance, may warrant a valuation £5,000 above market average – but only if those options are correctly identified.

Enter VIN Spec.

Auto Trader’s enhanced VIN Spec capability, now live for 12 manufacturers and growing, removes the manual effort of identifying factory-fitted options. This isn't just about accuracy; it’s about protecting margin. Our data shows that retailers manually inputting spec miss out on an average of £361 per unit.

With VIN Spec, you also empower Co-Driver to optimise descriptions and Vehicle Highlights more efficiently, helping you retail smarter from the outset.

 

Performance Rating: The Truth About Engagement

A car might be priced competitively and have a high Retail Rating, but if it's not converting, it could be the advert quality that’s lacking. Performance Rating offers a view into how your listings are performing compared to the market average.

Let’s take an example: a well-priced vehicle with a strong Retail Rating was stuck in stock for 100 days. Its Search Appearances were above average, yet engagement dropped off when it came to Advert Views. Why? Poor images, no description, and outdated promotions were likely culprits. The lesson: Performance Rating offers the missing link between pricing strategy and actual consumer behaviour.

Sometimes it’s not about lowering price, it’s about enhancing the advert.

Trended Valuations: Pricing with Foresight

What if you could see the past and forecast the future of a vehicle’s valuation? That’s exactly what Trended Valuations offer. Instead of relying solely on today’s market valuation, retailers now have access to historical trends and forward projections for up to six months. This helps manage pricing risk and aligns strategies with expected days to sell.

Think of it as pricing with foresight. For vehicles that move slowly, knowing where valuations are likely to head can help you decide whether to hold, adjust, or trade out. This is the transparency that gives your pricing strategies the depth they need.

The Final Word: Don’t Just Compete. Outperform.

Today’s top-performing retailers are those who look beyond the surface. They combine data, contextual insight, and compelling adverts to create retail experiences that convert.

Use every tool at your disposal: leverage live-market valuations, act on Retail Rating data, lean on enhanced VIN Spec for precision, monitor Performance Rating for advert health, and use Trended Valuations to plan ahead.

Because in this market, it’s not just about staying competitive, it’s about leading with confidence.

If you’re looking to highlight the margin opportunity on your forecourt, we’re here to help.

Book a Forecourt Review with your Account Manager and they’ll work with you to understand how you could be maximising the margin potential on your in-stock vehicles, as well as how you could be sourcing the right vehicles to suit your pricing strategy.

Alternatively, call us on 0345 111 0002 or email accountsupport@autotrader.co.uk.

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