​Over the last few months we’ve seen numerous ups and downs and September was no different.  After increasing by 2.6% from July to August, the overall number of Leads decreased by 3.9%, whilst Test Drives decreased by 2.5% from August to September.  Likely due to the increase in leads in August, we saw an increase of 3.9% Sales from August to September.

​‘Web – Classified’ remained the most common source of leads in NZ, but after increasing by 4.7% the previous month, leads from this source dropped by 5.2% in September.  ‘Web – Dealer’ leads from dealership websites also decreased – by 2.8% from August.  After increasing by almost 10% in August, we saw ‘Brand’ leads dropping by 13.1%.

​September 2019 saw Test Drives from ‘Web – Classified’ decrease by 1.7% from the previous month.  After being the second most common source of Test Drives for the last 12 months, September saw ‘Web – Dealer’ drop by 17.3% - leapfrogged into second place by test drives attributed to the ‘Direct’ sources.  Whilst this generally indicates walk-in Test Drives, this can be a negative as it can be used instead of attributing Test Drives to the real source.

​With Sales increasing by 3.9% we also saw Sales attributed to the ‘Web – Classified’ source increase by 2.8%.  Despite the overall increase in Sales, those attributed to ‘Web – Dealer’ dropped by 9.4% and ‘Repeat’ dropped by 1.1% from August to September 2019.

​Make sure to check back next month to see the top Sources of Leads, Test Drives and Sales in October 2019.  

In July we saw the volume of leads captured in NZ decrease by 3.2% from June 2019.  In August the number of leads rebounded to increase by 2.6% from month-to-month.  Unfortunately, the increases did not continue across the other KPI’s we track with Test Drives decreasing by 0.3% and Sales decreasing by 10.2% from July to August 2019.

‘Web – Classified’ was again the most common source of Leads – increasing by 4.7% from July to August.  ‘Web – Dealer’ remained the second most popular source of Leads in NZ but decreased by 3.4%.  After a drop of almost 70% from June to July due to the end of Fieldays, the Brand source rebounded to increase by 9.9% in August.

In August ‘Web Classified’ was the most common source of Test Drives and increased by 5.1%.  Test Drives arising from ‘Web – Dealer’ leads decreased by 11.5% and Test Drives from ‘Direct’ leads decreased by 4.3% from July to August.

​After a strong Sales month according to AutoPlay stats for the month of July, August Sales were slightly down with Sales from ‘Web – Classified’ leads down 4.2%, ‘Web – Dealer’ down 6.8% and Sales from ‘Repeat’ sources down 1.2% from July to August 2019.

Make sure to check back next month to see the top Sources of Leads, Test Drives and Sales in October 2019.  

The market performance in 2019 to date has been up and down, and July was no different.  After increasing by 3.3% from May to June, the volume of leads captured by kiwi dealers decreased by 3.2% from June to July 2019.  Test Drives fell again with 4.6% fewer Test Drives loaded across the 80% of franchise dealers using AutoPlay in July.  Sales bounced back in July with 12.9% more Sales being logged among AutoPlay dealers in July.

Unlike most sources, leads from ‘Web -Classified’ sources increased by 5.4% from June to July.  July also saw ‘Web – Dealer’ reclaim the second most popular source of leads despite decreasing by 1.9% from month-to-month.  This is because leads from the ‘Brand’ source decreasing by a massive 69.1% from June to July.  This is not unexpected as every June in NZ we see brands accounting for a large amount of leads due to the marketing and sales activities around Fieldays.

In July ‘Web Classified’ was the most common source of Test Drives but fell by 9.4%.  Test Drives arising from ‘Web – Dealer’ leads increased by 2.1% and Test Drives from ‘Direct’ leads decreased by 2.0% from June to July.

After a sizeable drop in Sales in June, Sales across the board increased in July 2019 (by 12.9%).  This was primarily due to a significant uptick in conversion to Sales on ‘Web – Classified’ leads – increasing by 23.2% from June to July.  Sales from ‘Web – Dealer’ source also increased by 5.5% resulting in a great month of Sales from online sources.  Sales from ‘Repeat’ customers decreased slightly (-0.1%) but still remained the 3rd most prevalent source of leads in July.

​Make sure to check back in August to see the top Sources of Leads, Test Drives and Sales in August 2019.  

​After April was one of the worst performing months in recent memory, we experienced a bounce back in May 2019 with increases in the number of Leads, Test Drives and Sales recorded.  We saw Leads increase by 14.2%, Test Drives by 17.4% and 8.0% increase in Sales from April 2019 to May 2019.

The top 3 sources of leads remain unchanged with ‘Web – Classified’ bouncing back from an 11.7% decrease from March to April, with a 10% increase from April to May 2019.  Leads from the ‘Web – Dealer’ source increased by 6.7% and continued to be the second most common source of leads in May.  As brands geared up for Fieldays in NZ we saw a number of pre-qualified leads for the event get pushed through to dealers in advance of Fieldays.  This was reflected in an increase in leads from the ‘Brand’ source of 29.6% from April 2019 to May 2019.

Following the trend, we saw Test Drives increase by 17.4% April to May 2019.  The most common source of Test Drives was again ‘Web – Dealer’ leads which increased by 12.4% month to month.  After drops of more than 30% in April, Test Drives from ‘Web – Classified’ sources bounced up to second on the back of a 16.4% increase month to month.  ‘Direct’ Test Drives also increased, but by a smaller margin (6.8%) – resulting in this source slipping to occupy the 3rd spot in Test Drive tracking.

​As with Leads and Test Drives, we saw an increase in Sales.  This played out as an 12.9% increase in Sales attributed to ‘Web - Classified’ sources, 3.5% increase in Sales from dealer websites (‘Web – Dealer’) and 5.6% increase in Sales attributed to ‘Repeat’ lead sources.

​With Fieldays just completed in June, we expect to see a big increase in brand leads when we publish the June figures next month.  Make sure to check The PlayBook next month for the top sources of Leads, Test Drives and Sales in June 2019.  

​As winter sets in we’ve seen a noticeable drop in activity by NZ dealers across all the key kpi’s.  April was one of the worst months in memory with Leads decreasing by 22.3%, Test Drives by 31.2% and Sales by 19.8%.

​With Fieldays just around the horizon in June dealers across NZ will be hoping for a bounce back in Leads, Test Drives and Sales in the coming months.  As always make sure to check back next month for the top sources of Leads, Test Drives and Sales in May 2019.  ​

In February we saw slight decreases across the board in Leads, Test Drives, Sales - somewhat expected with February being a shorter month than average.  In March 2019, AutoPlay saw an increase in Leads (by 10.9%), Test Drives (18%) and Sales (15.3%) all increasing from February 2019.

The most common source of Leads in March 2019 was from the 'Web - Classified' source which increased by 15.2% from the previous month and leaped 'Web - Dealer' to become the most common source of leads in March.  Leads from dealers websites ('Web - Dealer') accounted for the second most common source of leads in March - increasing by 7.2%.  The 'Brand' source remained the third most common source of Leads in March, but actually dropped by 17.1% month-to-month.

Test Drives also increased across the board with 'Web - Dealer' increasing by 11.1%, 'Direct' increasing by 28.1% and 'Web - Classified' increasing by 27.7%.  

In March 2019 the most common Source of Sales remained as 'Web - Dealer' which increased by 10.5% from February.  Likewise, 'Web - Classified' accounted for the second most Sales - increasing by 11.2% month-to-month.  However, whilst last month 'Brand' accounted for the third most Sales, in March 'Repeat' increased by 12.3% to become the third most common source of Sales.

As always make sure to check back next month for the top sources of Leads, Test Drives and Sales in April 2019.

​Contact support@autoplay.co.nz if you have any questions.

After a down December saw AutoPlay customers capture significantly fewer Leads, Test Drives and Sales than the month prior, January 2019 saw a significant increase in activity across all key KPI’s.  The volume of Leads (up 16.1% from Dec 18), Test Drives (up 19.5%) and Sales (up 16.2%) all returned to normal levels in January 2019.  

‘Web – Dealer’ regained the top spot as the most common source of leads for kiwi dealers in January 2019 – up 15.7% from December 2018.  This pushed ‘Web – Classified’ down to the second most common source of leads, increasing by 8.1% from the month prior.  In December 2018 the volume of ‘Brand’ leads suffered the most as brands wound down for Xmas – decreasing by 38.8%.  In January ‘Brands’ increased marketing activity back to normal levels and subsequently dealers using AutoPlay reported an increase in leads from this source of 29.7% from December 2018.

With the number of Test Drives captured overall increasing by 19.5% we saw an increase in Test Drives recorded against each Source with ‘Web – Dealer’ (up 10.5%), ‘Direct’ (up 20.1%) and ‘Web – Classified’ (8.7%) sources all seeing increases in Test Drive volume. 

​Continuing the trend, Sales increased across the board in January 2018.  Sales attributed to the ‘Web – Dealer’ source increase by 13%, ‘Web – Classified’ increased by 8.7% and ‘Repeat increased by 6.5% from December 2018 to January 2019.

​Make sure to check back in March to find out the most common sources of Leads, Test Drives and Sales in February 2019.  To find out more about the range of reports available via AutoPlay contact us on sales@autoplay.co.nz or +64 9 361 1505.

Welcome to 2019!  The December results are in and with public holidays and the general December slowdown it was a quiet month across the board for AutoPlay customers.  Overall the volume of leads captured or loaded by AutoPlay customers was down 11.3%.  There were 9.7% fewer Test Drives and Sales were down 11.2%.  Given AutoPlay has a significant market share of franchise dealers in NZ, this represents a pretty sizeable downturn for the month.

‘Web – Classified’ was the only Lead source that bucked the trend with an increase of 0.9% in the number of leads captured in December 2018, vs November 2018.  This is to be expected as whilst the discipline of manually loading leads can lapse around the holiday period, electronic leads from the likes of Trade Me, AutoTrader and Driven are automatically captured to dealers AutoPlay Sales Pipeline.  The ‘Web – Dealer’ source dropped by 9.8% and although still accounting for the third most leads, ‘Brand’ leads dropped by 38.8% as head office marketing drove fewer leads to dealers.

With the overall volume of Test Drives recorded dropping by 9.7% month to month, it’s not surprising that in December Test Drives attributed to most sources took a hit.  Test Drives from ‘Web – Dealer’ decreased by 1.3% and ‘Direct’ Test Drives fell by 3.2%.  As with Leads, the ‘Web – Classified’ source again bucked the trend an increased by 1.6% in December.

​Mirroring the slowdown in Leads and Test Drives, dealers recorded fewer sales across the board in December 2018.  ‘Web – Dealer’ continues to be the number one source of sales despite decreasing by 4.7% from the previous month.  ‘Web – Classified’ decreased by 7.2% and sales attributed to ‘Repeat’ customers also fell by 12.9% in December.

​Make sure to check back in February to see whether the volume of leads bounced back in January 2019.  To find out more about the range of reports available via AutoPlay contact us on sales@autoplay.co.nz or +64 9 361 1505.

After an up and down last few months saw strong growth in Lead and Test Drive volume in October 2018, November bucked the trend with decreases across all 3 KPI’s for AutoPlay customers.  Leads decreased by 2.5%, Test Drives by 5.2% and Sales by 4.1%.

Reflecting the overall trend of a decrease in Lead volume, most sources decreased in the month of November.  ‘Web – Dealer’ leads decreased by 6.8% from Octobers high, and whilst ‘Web – Classified’ still accounted for the second most leads across AutoPlay customers, dealers also saw a decrease in the number of leads from this source by 2.5% from month to month.  ‘Brand’ generated leads continue to provide dealers a reliable source of leads and were one of the few sources to buck the trend – increasing by 4.7% from October to November.

As with Leads, the overall number of Test Drives decreased in November (vs October 2018).  Test Drives from ‘Web – Dealer’ generated leads decreased by 7.8%, but dealer websites still remain the most fruitful place to generate Test Drives.  ‘Direct’ Test Drives continue to firm as the second most popular source of Test Drives with a small 2.0% increase from October to November.  As with October, Test Drives generated from ‘Brand’ leads accounted for the 3rd most Test Drives, but decreased by 11.7% from the previous month.

Sales across all Lead Sources decreased by 4.1% from October to November 2018.  The same three sources accounted for the most Sales in November with ‘Web – Dealer’ decreasing by 1.5%, ‘Web – Classified’ decreasing by 0.5% and ‘Repeat’ decreasing by 3.3%.

​Lead Source reports are just one of the reports available to dealerships and OEM’s who use AutoPlay Sales Pipeline.  To find out more about the range of reports available via AutoPlay contact us on sales@autoplay.co.nz or +64 9 361 1505.

After a down month in September, October 2018 saw a slight bounce back in Sales throughout dealers using AutoPlay for pre-sales lead management – with Sales increasing by 1.0% from September 2018 to October 2018. 
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However, October was a strong month for Leads and Test Drives which increased by 5.6% and 5.5% respectively – giving hope for a successful November.

Test Drives attributed to dealer websites rebounded from a drop in September to increase by 14.1% from September to October. 
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After becoming the second most popular source of Test Drives in September, ‘Direct’ firmed even further as the second most important source of Test Drives by increasing by 12.7% - proving that in this age of electronic and telephony leads that walk in Test Drives still account for a reasonable portion of the dealers Test Drives.  The third most popular source of Test Drives is still ‘Brand’ with a slight increase of 1.5%.

Make sure to check in next month to find out the top sources of Leads, Test Drives and Sales for dealerships in November 2018.  Lead Source reports are just one of the reports available to dealerships and OEM’s who use AutoPlay Sales Pipeline.  To find out more about the range of reports available via AutoPlay contact us on sales@autoplay.co.nz or +64 9 361 1505.
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