• Dealerweb reports that enquiries dipped by 17.4% in Q1, despite strong plate-change demand
• Second successive quarterly decline in new car enquiries
• Retail enquiries gravitated towards used cars in Q1 – up 5.2%
• Dealerweb Showroom provides a view of all customer interactions

Automotive retailers experienced a 17.4% drop in new car enquiries, year-on-year, during the first quarter of 2023, according to the latest data from automotive showroom management provider, Dealerweb. This is the second successive quarter of declining new car leads, following a 30.1% fall, year-on-year, from October to December 2022.

However, conversion rates remain strong, with orders resulting from new car enquiries dropping by only 1% in the first quarter of 2023, buoyed by an 8% uplift in March. Dealerweb also reports that demand for used cars remains robust, with enquiries up 5.2% in Q1. A greater percentage of used car leads are being converted too, up 12% year-on-year.

“The SMMT has highlighted how fleet demand has driven registrations over recent months, and that is echoed in our dealer enquiry data,” commented Steve Thomas, Sales Director at Dealerweb. “With fewer retail enquiries than in previous years dealers need to make the most of every lead they receive, using all of the tools at their disposal to respond to enquiries as quickly and effectively as possible.”

CitNOW Group research highlights the importance of response times, with a quarter (24%) of consumers saying they would expect a dealer to respond within 30 minutes of an initial enquiry. Two thirds (65%) of consumers would expect a dealership to respond to them via the same method of communication as they used. Dealerweb’s React lead management platform collates all online leads and can provide an immediate response and coupled with Dealerweb showroom for efficient sales management to help retailers manage communication via the customer’s preferred channel, and ensures that every lead is captured and scheduled for follow-up.

To discover further insights from CitNOW Group’s recent industry research, download the group’s new report, Uniting Customers and Retailers Through Technology, by visiting CitNOWGroup.com.