New figures released by Cars Direct, the leading online vehicle auction, show that some users have logged on to place a bid as late (or early) as 1am, demonstrating that we really do live in a 24/7 online world – even when it comes to work.
Almost 40% of initial bids on vehicles came in ‘out-of-hours’ – after 5pm and before 8am the next morning. With the rise of unpaid overtime and the rise of out-of-hours emails more managers are effectively working an extra day every week and this research bears out that staff in dealerships are doing the same.
As a nation, we have all reluctantly taken a work laptop home to cram in a few extra hours before a deadline. And with the advent of smartphones and tablets, working away from the office is now even easier.
Stats released by Ofcom show that over 90% of adults in the UK own a mobile-phone, with the average smart phone user checking their emails by 7.30am – before they have even gotten out of bed in the morning.
recent figures from Auto Trader show that two thirds of their site’s traffic comes from smartphones or tablets
On top of this, recent figures from Auto Trader show that two thirds of their site’s traffic comes from smartphones or tablets, which is why Cars Direct have renovated their website to be smart-phone and tablet compatible to meet the demand for trade buyers to easily log in and place a bid at any time of day.
Andy Brown, managing director of Cars Direct, said: “The research demonstrates how busy dealers are during the day as well as the convenience of the online format of our auctions, which means that bidders can reach us at all times of the day. Cars Direct have all the lots closing online at the same time, allowing buyers to place their bid at a time to suit them and then get on with the rest of their day.
“Trade buyers, like the rest of us, are busy people. They don’t want or have the time to spend a whole day watching a physical auction either in the hall or online just waiting for the right car to come through and Cars Direct recognises this. But even I was surprised to see that we’d received bids after midnight – as late as 1.50am – this demonstrates the benefits of our new mobile and tablet friendly website.”
Cars Direct, a subsidiary of CD Auction Group, is able to create a bespoke service tailored to meet the demands of individual businesses by implementing services including; vehicle collection and delivery, vehicle inspection and condition reporting, storage when not in use, vehicle movement tracking, mileage tracking and reporting, maintenance, repair and refurbishment and end-of-use vehicle disposal.
