Did you know that over the holiday period in 2019, 88% of users researched online before making an in-store purchase? Whilst you might argue that e-commerce and high street retail is a different game to that of automotive retailers, the principle is still the same: online research is a crucial step in any purchase, especially in the midst of a pandemic.
Although Black Friday was traditionally an American date signifying the Friday after Thanksgiving, its popularity within the UK has grown significantly over the last few years. For a lot of people, Black Friday marks both the beginning of the festive season (meaning the start of Christmas shopping) and a period for consumers to get large discounts before Christmas – thus making it a critical date within the retail year.
Upon its first introduction to the UK, Black Friday mostly saw big American retail chains participating with discounts only really applied to electrical goods. Fast-forward to today and we are seeing the majority of the UK high street participating, as well as a large majority of car dealerships across the country.
With the covid-19 pandemic still continuing to sweep across the UK, it should come as no surprise that Black Friday will look drastically different in 2020. With England in the middle of a four-week lockdown and Wales and Scotland each adhering to their own strict set of guidelines, it seems fairly obvious that Black Friday 2020 will see increased shopping and researching online – but what other changes might we see? In a report produced by Google they have predicted Black Friday lasting further than the usual weekend, longer purchasing journeys of up to six weeks and a rise in customer loyalty based on previous good experiences with brands. So what opportunities might these present for car dealers?
Get your products seen by those searching for them
With the predicted rise in shopping and researching online, you will want to ensure that your vehicles are seen by those searching for them – and that’s something that AdFeeder excels at. AdFeeder works by creating keywords and ads tailored to the elements of each specific vehicle, meaning that each keyword combination is covered.
Currently powering over 750 dealer locations across the UK, AdFeeder is a feed-based solution that produces automated, yet highly optimised ads for each car that your dealership sells, and has products for both new vehicles and used.
Ensure that your brand stands out
Now more than ever, you’ll want to ensure that your ads stand out – particularly those image-based ads such as Facebook ads and display ads on Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising. With customer loyalty expected to rise amongst shopping this year, why not create ads with eye-catching, instantly recognisable branding? Whether you want to change up automotive inventory ad frames on Facebook ads or alter the messaging or promotions in your text ads on Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising – with AdFeeder, all you need to do is let one of our experts know what you’d like and they’ll do the rest for you!
Get your offers and promotions seen
During the Black Friday and Christmas lead-up period, price point becomes more important to consumers when shopping around and researching. With that in mind, it’s important that you get your offers and promotions seen from the get-go. Whether you’re advertising used car stock, new cars or both, have a chat with your AdFeeder expert about what options might be available to you for adding offers and promotions to your ad copy.
Get clever with remarketing
With customer loyalty expected to rise and purchasing journeys predicted to take longer than usual, now seems like the perfect period to get clever with remarketing. Remarketing is a great way for you to reconnect with people who have previously interacted with your website, with strategically placed ads and this can be done via Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising or Facebook. Think of these ads as a subtle reminder to those who previously expressed an interest in your car dealership online.
After holding several positions within the retail industry for brands such as Leekes, Gap and River Island, Lucy brings both commercial and marketing experience to the AdFeeder team.
