Be on Top With Alpha Elite, Be Seen Where Online Shoppers Search

In today's reality, shoppers are definitely open to completing their entire purchase online. Research shows that 2 out of 3 shoppers are more likely to buy the vehicle 100% online and 62% of consumers state they are more likely to complete steps of the purchase process online due to COVID-19*. This is a critical tipping point.

We have entered a time where it is much more important to have tools and resources available to help shoppers not only seamlessly research and shop, but also purchase their cars online. Consumers have always wanted quicker interactions during their automotive experience, and now, with more online tools available to them such as scheduled test drives, pick-up and delivery, their willingness to completing the entire vehicle purchase online is accelerating exponentially.

The entry point for most shoppers who are home-bound due to the pandemic is the online search. Whether or not shoppers know the exact vehicle they want or just the style or price point, shoppers start their research here. In these times, shoppers may start with a general online search but are also craving certainty. Trusted third party search sites, like Autotrader and KBB.com, have seen exponential increases in search during the pandemic and have become a way for shoppers to feel more comfortable doing more of their vehicle purchase online.

As a way to enhance the shopping experience by providing more relevant search results to car shoppers, a new and powerful tool called Alpha Elite is now available from Autotrader. For the first time, Alpha, from Autotrader and Elite, from KBB.com, are joining forces to combine the strength of their search solutions so that vehicle listings appear seamlessly in search results to shoppers on both sites.

For example, let’s see how this dual search solution can impact a shopper’s search. Let’s say the shopper is searching Autotrader for mid-size SUVs, under 30K miles, and in a price range of $30,000-$40,000. Naturally, they would see quite a few results. Perhaps as they review their results, they even save a few to return to later.

But now let’s take this a step further; let’s imagine they have a trade as a part of their deal. When the shopper clicks onto KBB.com to see the value of their trade, the relevant mid-sized SUVs in with their previous search criteria from the Autotrader search can appear to them on KBB. These might be the same vehicles from the Autotrader listings they saw, or they could be your relevant inventory when you use the Alpha Elite tool.

In short, now that we know the vehicle criteria of a shopper, Alpha Elite can ensure that your relevant vehicles and your dealership are at the top of the search results and the shoppers consideration list. So even if a shopper didn’t find your relevant vehicle in their initial search, now you can show it to them in the stop spot with options to click to your vehicle description page or your dealership.

While shoppers like options they don’t like sifting through page after page of vehicle that don’t interested them. Now, with the power of Alpha Elite connecting shoppers to what they want across sites has never been easier or more seamless. To learn how you can double up on your search strategy and put your vehicles on top visit b2b.autotrader.com and click on Get In Front of More Qualified Buyers for more details on how you can dominate your market with Alpha Elite.

* Source information provided from the COVID-19 DIGITAL SHOPPING STUDY

The first online survey was fielded April 4-5, 2020 among 1,000 consumers. The second online survey was fielded April 25 – 27, 2020 among 1,125 Total Consumers (575 New Vehicle Shoppers)

Ages 18-70 years old

Shoppers must intend to purchase within the next 6 months