The pandemic has had a “profound effect” on dealer buying behaviour, with businesses turning to a variety of sources to keep their forecourts stocked with used cars.
A survey by NextGear Capital found that two-fifths of dealers have used digital-only auctions more in the last 12 months, and 44% report having bought more stock direct from consumers than they did pre-pandemic.
Fleet and manufacturer direct channels have also experienced an uplift in activity with 31% of dealers saying they have used them more, and the same number have made more use of trade sources.
Looking to the future half said they expected part-exchanges to play a more prominent role in their stock sourcing activities, almost two-thirds expect to be sourcing more direct from consumers, and 38% expect to use digital-only auctions more frequently.
Fleet and manufacturer channels will continue to attract more business from a third of dealers, while 28% intend to buy more from the traditional auction houses.
Liam Quegan, managing director of NextGear Capital, said: “With physical auctions closed, the mass migration to digital channels was inevitable, but it’s interesting to see that dealers have turned to a variety of channels aside from the auction platforms to find stock during the last year.
“The question has always been what will happen when the traditional lanes reopen and whether the new behaviours established on the back of Covid-19 will hold true, and I think this snapshot indicates change is long-term for a significant proportion of dealers.”