eBay Motors provides insights and best practices to dealers at NADA 2014

As the economy strengthens and automotive credit standards ease, vehicle sales are projected to total over 16 million in 2014 (IHS Automotive). Recently, automakers reported the strongest year in U.S. vehicle sales since 2007.

eBay Motors will be exhibiting at the National Auto Dealers Association (NADA) conference January 24-27 and providing dealers with tips on how to capitalize on this forecasted growth, by expanding the exposure of their current inventory and connecting with consumers when and where they want to shop. These tips include:

• Motivate the Millennials: 86 million millennials are coming of car-shopping age, and have a buying power of an estimated $170 billion (comScore), making them a key target for dealers. In order to reach this audience, dealers must engage with millennials in the ways they prefer to shop. For example, ninety-four percent of millennials go online to gather information when shopping for a new car or truck, and forty-four percent of millennials are likely to use mobile devices to compare prices or get information while they are at a dealership. Dealerships that are not yet engaging with consumers via online and mobile channels risk losing the significant new stream of revenue that millennials can provide.

• Reach them whenever and wherever: Mobile continues to be huge for car shoppers. For example, there are 14,000 vehicles sold on eBay Motors via mobile per week as of Q3 2013. Consumers are increasingly adopting mobile commerce, and expecting businesses to be on board. Therefore, it has become increasingly important that dealers ensure that their websites are optimized for smartphones or other devices. If a dealer’s inventory is not readily available via mobile, chances are there is an entire customer segment that may not see what’s for sale.

• Develop a national reach: Many car shoppers who are looking for a specific vehicle are willing to travel outside of their local neighborhood to purchase it. For example, in Q3 2013, seventy-six percent of all vehicles sold on eBay Motors were interstate transactions. Listing a vehicle online through a complementary sales channel such as eBay Motors can help dealers reach a wider audience of buyers. For instance, through eBay Motors’ National Subscriptions program, dealers can leverage a consistent monthly online sales channel, complete with dedicated account support and in-depth reporting.

As the number one site in automotive minutes and in automotive page views, eBay Motors enables dealers to reach eBay Marketplaces’ 128 million users worldwide. In Q3 2013 there were 13.7 million unique visitors to eBay Motors (ComScore Q3 2013). eBay Motors also empowers dealers to reach customers in the way they want to shop, including via online and mobile.

For additional information, please visit http://www.ebay.com/motors