Mobile optimisation a must-have for used car dealers, says Google automotive boss
A senior executive at search giant Google has highlighted the importance of used car traders having a mobile optimised website.
Speaking to Automotive Management (AM) online, Hugh Dickerson, senior industry head for automotive, cited research showing that half of internet searches are carried out on mobile devices. Yet used car dealers still lag behind when it comes to implementing a mobile optimised website.
"The area where dealers continue to lag behind is mobile despite the fact that more than half of all consumers use the device to search online," he said.
Statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) from 2014 reveal that 76% of UK adults (38 million) accessed the internet daily – a rise of 21 million since 2006.And web access using a mobile phone more than doubled between 2010 and 2014, from 24% to 58%.
The figures show that mobile optimisation is no longer an option, but a must.
"Car-buyers have yet to make the purchase online, but searching for the right vehicle and even comparing prices and models whilst on the used car forecourt with competitors is very much a regular practice," commented Dickerson.
"A used car locator with pages that can easily be viewed on a smartphone are a must if dealers are to keep pace with consumer demand. Dealer websites which take too long to load or used car pages which cannot be easily viewed on a smartphone will see would-be buyers disappearing to another site," he added.