Printed publishing makes way for digital, as we turn the last page on our AutoTrader magazine
For 25 years waiting rooms and living rooms have been anchored by the thick wedge that was AutoTrader’s flagship. A magazine with pages that were densely packed with cars for sale from all around the country. This month the magazine says goodbye to the South African public. It is a milestone that is both an end and a bold new beginning, as we go fully digital!
The magazine was the start of our business and was the heart of the business for 15 years before the transition to digital started in 2008. At one stage it was so popular that our printers told us we had to hold off as the magazine size was going to break the binder! In fact, there were several instances when AutoTrader was late to retail shelves as a result of it having broken the binders. But today we live in a far more exciting reality. There’s no doubt that it’s time to fully embrace the digital age.
The move to online only is the result of visionary thinking and extensive research, a process that has been in operation for nearly ten years.
Making the transition
We launched our magazine in 1992 and our website in 1998. It was in 2008 that we realized our magazine had a shelf-life. With the internet developing at a rapid rate, the possibilities of what could be done online were increasing.
With my team in tow, we hit on a novel way to track the change. As with all AutoTrader policy making, they put the process in the consumers’ hands, monitoring changing consumer preference as a guide to when it would be time to make the full digital jump.
We’ve had to let our customers decide, after all, it’s their platform. We created two unique sets of telephone response numbers, one printed in the magazine and the other on our website. We then knew whether our users were responding via the magazine or the website, and through tracking it month-by-month we could see how quickly their preference was changing.
Going digital
Having a finger on the digital versus print pulse allowed the company to transform itself timeously with consumers’ changing habits. As user loyalty slowly shifted to digital, we had to train AutoTrader staff to also make the digital jump.
In 2008, it was 95% magazine and by 2013 we hit the midway point. At the beginning of 2016, we thought we had another six months. It was only in January 2017 that the low consumer demand for the magazine no longer made it viable, and we were able to make the call.
Putting the power of the internet into perspective: AutoTrader sold 1,4 million magazines in 2006. In 2016 the website had over 50 million visits. We sent over 3 million leads connecting serious car buyers and sellers. One magazine could host 8 – 10,000 cars in total. Today on the website, 68,000 cars are listed at any one time.
The total online package has empowered buyers and sellers to a remarkable degree. It has done so in a way the magazine never could. AutoTrader.co.za today offers financing, insurance, history checks, buyer/seller validation, and geographic location services. There’s also a dedicated content hub that houses motoring news, reviews and videos from our in-house experts. This allows car buyers to make the best purchase decision. Strategic digital partnerships have further propelled the business into digital stardom, such as the company’s own motoring show #AutoCentral, hosted on CliffCentral.com.
Our place in the industry
Effective Measure has observed AutoTrader’s contribution to the total growth of the online automotive industry.
“Online searches for automobiles in South Africa have experienced tremendous growth in the last few years. All the while AutoTrader has been at the forefront of this growth and innovation,” said Greg Mason. Mason is the Effective Measure’s Sub-Saharan regional lead. “From January 2015 to March 2017 AutoTrader alone experienced an 86% growth in page views and 48% growth in unique browsers to their site. This, together with the innovation and growth in their Apps, has added significantly to the growth of their website as well as the overall online automotive sector.”
The ultimate goal
For our company, the move to digital is truly a new beginning. We can now set our sights on the ultimate goal.
We want to offer our buyers and sellers total efficiency, empowering all of them as much as possible. Furthermore, we connect them with each other in even more creative ways. The ultimate goal is being able to conduct an entire vehicle sale, online, perfectly, and without administrative or physical barriers. We, nor the country, are there yet, but we are a big step closer. We believe that AutoTrader is leading this charge. For us, it’s just a matter of time.
