ATLANTA -

With its latest feature, AutoTrader.com is looking to give dealers another way to attract shoppers to their lots and inventory.

With the new Price Markdown feature, dealers can systematically subtract the amount of special offers from the price of their vehicles.

“With this tool, dealers are able to more easily highlight the affordability of their new cars and entice shoppers who may be undecided between a new and used vehicle,” the company explained.

So what exactly has changed?

Officials noted that previously, dealers were able to advertise that special offers were available for their vehicles, but that’s where it stopped.

Now, the Price Markdown feature takes that to the next level by enabling them to markdown the advertised price of their vehicles, moving the vehicle into a lower price bracket online.

"We continually strive to provide more value to our dealer customers, and this new feature is one more way we’re accomplishing that goal. Multiple studies have shown that price, and price-related issues such as discounts and specials, top the list of factors that influence shoppers to purchase a particular vehicle," said Chip Perry, president and chief executive officer at AutoTrader.com.

"With the new Price Markdown feature, dealers are able to more visibly advertise the affordability of their new car inventory and entice shoppers who are sitting on the fence between buying a new or used car,” he continued.

Basically, now dealers can select to have special offers of any type — OEM offers and custom offers — applied to their listings by vehicle make.

Moreover, dealers can also pick whether the offer amount is subtracted from the MSRP or retail price.

AutoTrader.com also noted that this is particularly important because “the majority of consumers are undecided between a new and used car when they begin the car shopping process.”

According to the 2011 Automotive Buyer Influence Study, almost half  (45 percent) of new vehicle buyers who visited AutoTrader.com began their search looking for a used car.

“While special offers, dealer rebates and incentives are important to used vehicle buyers, they are significantly more important to new vehicle buyers, who rank it as the third most important reason to shop online,” officials noted.

Also, a survey taken this past November on the site showed that price is the most important factor for consumers shopping for a new vehicle.

A significant 88 percent of survey takers selected "price" when asked to indicate their top three most important factors in that survey.  

Perry also offered his take on the importance of the new tool for dealers: "Properly merchandising new car inventory is critical to attracting car shoppers online, and this most recent enhancement enables dealers to speak to the number one deciding factor for shoppers — price.

"But beyond the importance of the overall price, shoppers want to feel like they’re getting a good deal on their car, making it important for dealers to advertise their discounts and other incentives," Perry concluded.