Car dealers lag behind in mobile revolution
At present, fewer than 10 per cent of the UK’s biggest car dealer businesses tailor their website content for users of web-enabled iPhones and other smartphones, according to a new survey. This is despite the fact that one in four UK consumers already use their mobile devices to research or transact purchases online each week.
The survey was carried out by web management firm GForces, which works with more of the UK’s leading car dealers than any rival. The firm found that just 17 of the country’s top 200 dealers tailor their online content specifically for mobile users. However, GForces warns that by not doing so dealers risk missing out on a large and growing revenue generation opportunity.
“The era of mass-market adoption of internet-enabled mobile handsets is upon us,” explains Tim Smith, Commercial Director. “People are increasingly using their mobiles to perform extensive research before making a purchase, whether that’s online or in the showroom. To successfully harness the opportunity, dealers must understand how mobile technology is being used and adapt their online content to reflect the change.”
According to recent research, 43 per cent of people in the market for a car will use their mobile phone to perform an initial search. Couple this striking statistic with the fact that the number of smartphone users in the UK has increased by over 80 per cent in the last year, and it becomes increasingly apparent that dealers need to adapt their online presence to embrace this hand-held phenomenon.
One dealer that has heeded this advice is the Harwoods Group in East Sussex. Having launched their mobile-friendly, GForces-built website in March of this year, they have already seen the total number of calls generated rise by 31 per cent, with visitor numbers also increasing by 62 per cent.
Archie Harwood, Group Marketing Manager, explained: “We decided to introduce a user-friendly mobile site that made the browsing experience as easy and hassle-free as possible. It’s added a new, cutting-edge dimension to our business which reflects today’s consumer behaviour. By allowing mobile site visitors to search concisely through models by make, model, price or location, we can deliver the right content in the right way.”
GForces’ Smith concluded: “There are over 13 million smartphone users in the UK today, with over half of those people between the ages of 25 and 44 – a key car-buying demographic. With a third of non-smartphone users stating that they expect to acquire such a device in the coming 12 months, dealers must deploy mobile-compatible website content in order to remain truly competitive.”
Smith suggests that dealers look at Google’s best practice for making websites ‘mobile friendly’. Called the ‘4 Bs’, the internet service provider says your site should:
Be clear with your message and avoid ‘overkill’ on mobile content.
Be ready as mobile commerce is not a prediction, it’s happening right now.
Be found by optimising your message and content specifically for mobile devices and browsers, it’s a different format to desktop.
Be smart and understand the value in your mobile presence by getting the right data back and choosing the right web partner.
