One of Ireland's largest online car marketplaces, Carzone, has announced that it will offer its advertising packages free of charge to customers for the month of February, as showrooms have had to close to the public amid Covid-19 restrictions. The year has already gotten off to a sluggish start with new car registrations already down by 26 per cent over the same period in 2020.
Click and collect services are helping some dealers, but getting new and used stock advertised online is one of the few ways that prospective customers can see the product. Carzone has already launched an online performance improvement centre to help retail staff maximise business potential.
Commenting on the latest measure, Warren Cray, Managing Director of Carzone, said: "This year brings a new set of challenges in an ever-changing motoring industry, with evolving customer buying behaviours. Carzone is committed to continue offering support to customers and the industry, which is why the decision to financially support our customers again has been made. By offering a free month of advertising with Carzone, they hope to ease the strain on cash flow and enable our partners to return to business as normal as soon as possible once restriction lift."
Carzone recommends that is customers maximise online presence by using the various tools that it offers. These include Dealer Finance, Trade-in, Live Chat, Text and Remote Selling Flags, as these have all seen extensive engagement from buyers in recent times according to the company.