CarsDirect.com Introduces Industry-First Used Vehicle Demand Index
LOS ANGELES--July 29, 2004--| Internet leader's latest intelligence tool gives dealers the power to maximize what's hot on the online used car lot -- and minimize what's not |
CarsDirect.com, a leading online automotive research and shopping service, today announced a significant addition to its collection of dealer intelligence offerings. The company's new Demand Index -- the first of its kind in the industry -- is an in-depth monthly analysis of market demand for a dealer's online used vehicle inventory, measured and indexed on a model-by-model basis. The resulting analysis, offered as an enhancement to CarsDirect.com's monthly Used Dealer Scorecard, yields real-time data that allow dealers to make smart decisions about which models are sizzling hot, declining in popularity or just plain stalled out.
"Understanding the rapid shifts of local market dynamics is the key to efficient inventory management," said Mark Miller, senior vice president, dealer and industry relations, CarsDirect.com. "National averages or last quarter's statistics about what's selling and what's not offer little value to a dealer who's trying to decide what to buy at tomorrow's auction or which trade-ins warrant a premium price." One of the many unique benefits of the CarsDirect.com Demand Index, according to Miller, is the fact that all individual dealer results are indexed against online local market activity, giving dealers additional intelligence about how their online used vehicle inventory stacks up against competitors in the same area.
The Demand Index is the latest product offering to leverage CarsDirect.com's extensive shopping and buying behavior data analysis capabilities. Using proprietary methodology, CarsDirect.com has devised a way to more accurately measure the desirability quotient of a listed vehicle. Instead of simply measuring the overall demand (searches for a certain model), the Demand Index analyzes online consumer demand relative to the online inventory of vehicles in a region. This can help dealers better manage their online inventory. For example, a Chevrolet dealer who may be appraising a Saab as a trade-in may appraise it differently based on relative online demand. If there are a large number of people looking at that Saab online but few online listings for that model, the dealer may appraise it higher and have more confidence it will sell at retail.
In addition to measuring shopper interest based on searches, clicks and leads, CarsDirect.com also grades each dealer's online inventory and then compares index scores between an individual dealer and the local online market. Dealers can easily assess whether their online used inventory mix is optimized to move quickly.
The CarsDirect.com Demand Index is based on the shopping and purchase patterns of more than six million visitors to www.carsdirect.com each month.
About CarsDirect.com
Los Angeles-based CarsDirect.com (www.carsdirect.com) is a leading online automotive research and shopping service, providing new and used automobiles and related products and services, such as loan and lease financing and in-demand aftermarket products including extended warranties. CarsDirect.com is the first online provider to offer visitors a dedicated Research Center as well as three distinctive car buying options: buying a new car online through the company's award-winning direct channel; being matched with a top-quality new car dealer of their choice via the CarsDirect Connect channel; or locating and purchasing a previously owned vehicle through the CarsDirect Used channel.
CarsDirect.com has been named one of the "50 Best Websites" by Time Magazine, chosen a "Forbes Favorite" three times by Forbes Magazine and selected as a "Top 100 Internet Site" for three consecutive years in PC Magazine.