AUTOTRADER Group is reporting a strong start to the year which has seen the number of customer leads flowing to dealers grow to record levels.
Director of motors at Gumtree Group, Benn Sykes said the results reflected the group’s increased strategic investment and a focus on attracting “the right type of buyer” to its platforms across Gumtree Cars, CarsGuide and Autotrader.
He said the group has made a multimillion-dollar investment in technology designed to smooth the user experience across its websites plus an investment in marketing aimed at driving further growth in the Autotrader Group dealership offering.
Mr Sykes said CarsGuide finished 2023 as Australia’s number one platform for auto editorial and that 2024 has seen “solid growth thanks to our commitment to the consumer and helping them navigate that buying process with confidence”.
“January 2024 was a record month with a 10 per cent jump year-on-year in dealer leads, while year-to-date we are up 3 per cent.”
Benn Sykes
“These strong results reflect the investment across the business to upgrade our systems, deliver a better user experience and lift brand awareness; giving us a better audience than we have ever had.
“With more committed buyers coming through the door we are delivering on our goals to restore Autotrader Group to be the platform of choice for our dealer partners.”
Mr Sykes said the business is committed to continuing its focus on strengthening dealership and partner collaboration.
“We have no plans to slow our momentum. We have ambitious goals and these record numbers show that we are on the right path in delivering to both our consumers and dealer partners.”
In February Gumtree Australia embarked on a seven figure outdoor advertising campaign designed to reset the brand in the minds of Australian shoppers.
The Shop Gumtree campaign told consumers that not only should they shop with Gumtree but should choose Gumtree first “whether buying a car or a bed”. Gumtree Group incorporates the trio of online auto sites: Gumtree Cars, CarsGuide and Autotrader.
The national brand campaign was displayed on nearly two hundred and fifty large format outdoor advertising sites and on more than 1300 bus shelters across Australia.
Australian-owned and operated Gumtree Group connects people through more than two-million live listings. It reaches more than six-million people a month and generates more than $3 billion in monthly gross listing volume. On the automotive side, it comprises Gumtree Cars, CarsGuide and Autotrader.
Last November the company announced ambitious plans to not only restore its automotive properties to what its owners think is their rightful place in the market but to move to the point where it is the first choice of dealers to advertise their cars.
The strategy was to make the group’s three website brands the go-to places for car buyers, who are then directed to dealers’ cars for sale.
The company believes that its three-pronged online approach casts a superior catchment net than a single website can achieve, with car buyers being drawn into any one of the sites with different needs and from different directions.
By John Mellor
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