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CarGurus Research Outlines Key Challenges Facing Used Car Dealerships in 2020
Company’s “One Voice” Report Finds Inventory and Digital Trends Among Focus Areas for Dealers LAS VEGAS, Feb. 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CarGurus (Nasdaq:
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[{"type":"text","content":"Company’s “One Voice” Report Finds Inventory and Digital Trends Among Focus Areas for Dealers\nLAS VEGAS, Feb. 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CarGurus (Nasdaq: CARG), a leading global online automotive marketplace, today has launched its inaugural “One Voice” report in the U.S. at the 2020 NADA Show. This comprehensive report examines the major issues that dealerships are analyzing for their business’s 2020 performance, including areas such as inventory sourcing, digital trends, margin growth and lead management.\n Inventory The One Voice report revealed that 76% of used car dealers found it more difficult to find the right inventory in 2019 compared to the year before, with one third of those dealers expressing that inventory sourcing was either very or extremely difficult. In 2020, dealers revealed they will look for new sources of used cars to counter these pressures. The report also analysed the amount of time inventory is selling and leaving dealers’ lots. The data shows that the best performing dealers in this metric are turning their inventory in less than 10 days (2% of those surveyed), while the typical turn time is between 41-50 days (22% of those surveyed). To combat these challenges, interviewed dealers named aggressive pricing, faster reconditioning times and re-strategizing inventory mix as potential solutions. Digital TrendsHeading into 2020, one certainty the One Voice report found is the dealership community’s increased focus on digitizing the car buying process. The top three digital offerings dealers noted in the report are: Online finance completion for pre-approval (50%)A full click-to-buy feature (43%)Online trade-in valuation (33%) Margin GrowthThe report also asked dealers about their expected profit margins for 2020. Despite 57% of dealers saying they found retaining margin was harder in 2019 than in 2018, their outlook for 2020 was optimistic. 40% expect to see an improvement in this area, and only 17% anticipate a margin decline. Lead ManagementNearly half (47%) of dealers surveyed reported a higher volume of leads in 2019, with only 29% citing a decrease. The research also found that dealers plan to further improve lead management in 2020, with a focus on search engine marketing, improved website integration, more social media, better dedicated tracking systems and more attention to analytics. “Used car...