Time passes and some customs and customs are getting old. New technologies make sure that this process is accelerated, leaving winners and losers. They break new businesses while others are reduced to a minimum.
Examples abound and extend to all sectors. In the car, for example, almost no one publishes a classified ad in a newspaper to sell their car. This modality has been left as obsolete as placing a bottle on the roof to attract buyers. In this context of constant changes, the sale of used today has as its main and almost unique scenario to the Internet.
Indeed:
- More than 250,000 ads daily visit the web pages of the different platforms for the sale
- Of the total of 1.7 million units that are transferred annually, 90% went through a digital channel at some pointThe data was confirmed to iProUP by the Automotive Chamber of Commerce (CCA). From the entity admit that today online media are the fundamental basis of the business and that only for the closing of an operation, when it is done in an agency and not between individuals, is that people approach the sales channel.
For now, it is estimated that:
- 60% of the used buying and selling process receives, at some point, the participation of concessionaires
- The remaining 40% of operations are already carried out without intermediaries
In addition, before reaching the transfer, the online channel is also "decisive" for the agreement to be finalized.
This virulent change in uses and customs has been accelerating since the circulation of graphic media began to fall and a good part of society migrated to digital media. Consequently, paper ads relegated prominence to online ad sites.
That said, the inevitable question is among whom the business is distributed. And the truth is that they reach with the fingers of one hand to tell the new "owners" of the market.How the market is distributed
Today there are only four great players that concentrate between 250,000 and 300,000 ads per day that connect buyers with sellers.Among the sites that users first "google" when looking for a car, the following stand out:
- Free market
- DeAutos (acquired by Grupo Supervielle, as anticipated by iProUP)
- DeMotors
- OLX
In a fifth place but lagging behind appears Car One, which offers its own stock and allows sellers to publish their cars by way of consignment.
Although the amount of monthly ads is not, per se, the variable that serves to determine which one is better, the truth is that it gives an idea about those signatures that users resort to when performing an operation:
- Free market: 141,000
- DeMotors: 25,500
- DeAutos: 24,700
- OLX: 24,100
- CarOne: 170 used and 303 0kmIn this last time, some apps have emerged that offer the possibility of closing the operation from end to end, such as Checkars. From the company they confirm to iProUP that they have opted to go one step further because there was no 100% online purchase option in Argentina, while there is an increasingly predisposed public to make progress in this area.
Jaime Macaya, one of the founders of Checkars, says: "Today, there is a penetration in the classifieds that exceeds 100% of the number of cars sold."
"While 150,000 used are transferred per month, on any day of the week there are more than 200,000 options to choose online. This shows that the flow of people moving in these media is huge," says the director, who clarifies that this Superior penetration occurs only in Argentina.
The market is completed with the offer of the automakers themselves, who have developed their own digital sales channels. In most cases, for specific models and 0km, although in some particular situations they extend to pre-selected used ones, as is the case of Peugeot.
"The entire sale of used cars circulates on digital lanes. That's where 90% of people have their first contact when they want to buy or change their model," says Alejandro Lamas, secretary general of the CEC.
In another order, Lamas admits that consumer loyalty to agency sellers has been extinguished, whom they call only to consult a price as a reference. "Currently, the first search place is online sites. A few years ago, it started in the classified," he explains.One of the issues for which people go to dealerships is because there are still certain fears related to the state or documentation of the vehicle. Then, by outsourcing responsibility to an agency, you gain security and support to claim.
Car One is also a very particular case and it shows the change in trend, generated from the same point of sale and as proof that there is no fear that this medium "attempts" against traditional salons.
Mora Peralta Ramos, Marketing Manager of the group, explains that the company's largest investment in advertising is focused on digital because in 100% of the operations that are carried out, whether with a 0km vehicle or a used vehicle, people go through The web as the first instance.
"Our goal is to invest in classified publishing web media to generate traffic to the platform itself and channel it into Car One," explains the directive, who acknowledges devoting much of his investment to sites such as Mercado Libre."We have 500,000 monthly visits. We are references in the world of used, regardless of our role in different brands with the offer of 0km," he adds.
In addition to the own stock, the firm has a product called "Owner Sells", through which a holder can leave the car on consignment in the physical sales channel of Car One and with that also appears on the site. In addition, he launched the "Virtual Selling Owner" service, through which the car is quoted, the photos are left and published but the owner can take the car and continue using it.
"I think the online world gains participation in all industries, some more advanced because from the beginning to the end the operation is carried out through the web. This does not happen with the car because at some point you have to go to the salon to sign papers or see the used one. For now the room will not disappear, but the sale is already half online and half face-to-face, "he clarifies.
Another advantage that stands out from digital channels is that they allow you to optimize investments knowing that they reach the customer who is looking for a model. "The measurements are more accurate than in graphic media. Here, if you are not looking for a car, no offer is made," adds the marketing specialist.
Argentine customs
The popularity of e-commerce platforms, in addition to facilitating the search for a vehicle and the arrival of notices to an entire country - unlike the old classified ads that depended on newspapers or magazines that in most cases only They were sold in some provinces or areas - it also greatly facilitated the collection of data and statistics to analyze public preferences, both at the country and regional level.In that sense, the most recognized and used site in Argentina is Mercado Libre. Its Vehicles division provides a detailed report detailing the behavior of users in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay. According to the investigation:
- 33% of the demand for cars is concentrated among millennials, matching the traditional segment of buyers between 35 and 44 years
- Users in Argentina and Uruguay prefer German brands. In Brazil and Mexico, the Americans. In Colombia and Chile, the Japanese
- With regard to vehicles of Chinese origin, the greatest year-on-year growth in supply is evident in Chile, followed by Argentina, while in the rest of the countries the presence is marginal
- In Argentina, searches are quite consistent with the ranking of patents: there is a marked demand for medium pickups with the Toyota Hilux leading the podium of the consultations, followed by the Ford Ranger and the Volkswagen Gol in third place
- If ais made by brands, the most required is Volkswagen, escorted by Ford and Peugeot, which coincides with its origin: 26.4% of the demand is concentrated on German brands, followed by 24.4% of US firms and 22.5% in French companies
- More than 60% of searches by type of vehicle are concentrated in hatchbacks, sedans and SUVs, although Argentina also stands out for being the only country in the region to have sports coupé cars among the most sought after.The purchase, from end to end
In addition to the classified sites that unite buyers and sellers, with the digital explosion some players took another step and allowed to close the purchase. It is the case of Checkars. Jaime Macaya and Juan Cruz de la Rúa generated this format after living the experience at OLX, where they met.
As they understood that the union between buyer and seller was missing a tip, they created a platform where they can be sold or bought used and the only "physical" step that is required is the signature on a scribe.The way to operate Checkars is very simple. The platform was developed by Argentine engineers and the price algorithm was commissioned to India, a market in which, they say, better costs are achieved.
The site currently has a catalog in which all the units are owned by the project owners, who buy the units, evaluate them with a mechanic and then assemble the book.
The buyer can view the car of interest on the web, complete the data and decide if he wants to. There is the possibility of seeing it physically, in a warehouse located in Panamericana and Thames, although the intention of the creators is that the operation is 100% online.
As for the influence of the current context in the closing of operations, with a market in decline, from Checkars admit that it is more complicated but not because it is online, but because of the general situation.
As for the future, they believe that the consolidation of the online business will be accelerated, while the neighborhood agency will be shrinking. "Today, the smallest players are the ones at risk," says Macaya.Used, more resistant
The business of search engines and used car sales sites has an advantage over 0km: its less pronounced decline in the number of operations, even in July sales grew 8.6%. In the annual, the fall is 4.7% against 51% in the 0km segment."The sale of used goods fell less than at 0km and the explanation is that it is a purer market where the price is regulated by supply and demand. That is, the positions between sellers and buyers look closer. That explains that the decline It hasn't been as strong as the new ones, "says Lamas.
"In the accumulated there is an insignificant fall of 4%, and we expect that result for the year," adds the manager.
On the other hand, it indicates that, with higher sales, the tax return received by the State is also higher, considering that 50% of the value of a 0km are taxes. Although this burden is greater with the new ones, also the used ones pay a bulky tax burden and that is why they claim incentives, as it happens with the new ones.