COSTA MESA, Calif. -
NADAguides.com said the company enjoyed a lift in both website traffic and consumer price requests in 2010 and pointed to stronger tools and its strategy to improve site content as pivotal factors.
What’s more, consumers returned to being more engaged in the market, which spurred gains on NADAguides.com.
“The website continued its typical year-over-year growth in 2010, but heightened growth was experienced and can be quantitatively attributed to new and enhanced vehicle buying and shopping tools as well as a focus on site content,” said Troy Snyder, director of product development at NADAguides.
“These enhancements to NADAguides.com provide in-market consumers with the insight needed to make intelligent, clear and confident transactions in the marketplace,” he added. “Revived consumer market activity and interest also fueled site growth as each of our vehicle segments began to see life return to new model announcements, supply chains and marketplaces.”
Overall, price report requests from consumers climbed 10 percent year-over-year in 2010. The fourth quarter showed the heftiest growth at 18 percent.
Diving into greater detail about the site’s activity, officials said traffic growth climbed throughout all vehicle types on NADAguides.com, including the automotive sector, whose traffic surged more than 13 percent on a year-over-year basis in the fourth quarter.
Pushing the increase in the site’s automotive section were a slew of factors, including the site’s new design and shopping tools, in addition to stronger content, officials said. Moreover, outside factors like new models being introduced and the economy’s health improving helped, too.
Meanwhile, traffic in the classic cars section climbed 14 percent for full-year 2010 and there was a 21-percent uptick in classic car value report requests.
One factor leading the charge in this particular segment was the fact that prices dropped for certain classic vehicles, making it easier for some shoppers to enter this market (which can often be pricey), officials said. The classic car market’s volatility also played a role.
“Conversely, certain segments such as highline exotic cars, have been seen as a more sound option compared to other investments,” analysts said.
Meanwhile, the motorcycle segment of the site showed a 7-percent year-over-year increase in visits during the fourth quarter and the same upswing for price requests. Boat section visits improved 2 percent from the fourth quarter of 2009 as did the number of price requests for that section.
Interestingly enough, unit sales for both of these segments were on the decline in 2010, which goes against the aforementioned price request/traffic trends on NADAguides.com.
In fact, there was more than a 15-percent drop in motorcycle sales (comprised by motorcycles and ATVs) in the first nine months of 2010, officials noted, citing the Motorcycle Industry Council.
As far as boats, NADAguides said this sales decline goes back to 2006, but things have recently improved.
Moving on to the recreation vehicle portion of NADAguides.com, price report requests during the fourth quarter climbed 4 percent year-over-year. For full-year 2010, there was a 5-percent upswing.
“The Recreational Vehicle Industry Association has also reported recent increases in shipments of RVs from January through October 2010 as compared to the same time period in 2009,” officials pointed out.
“This increase, in addition to the increased growth on NADAguides.com, are key indicators that this industry may finally be attempting to right itself,” they added.