CARGURUS LAUNCHES WHATSAPP INTEGRATION TO UK MARKETPLACE

• New feature enables car buyers to contact dealers through social media messaging platform WhatsApp
• CarGurus provides a fully managed communication platform to free up dealer resources to respond to email and telephone enquiries
• Improves car buying experience for customers through faster response times via the hugely popular and familiar WhatsApp platform
• New WhatsApp leads show incremental growth with very little cannibalisation of other lead types**

CarGurus, the fastest growing online automotive marketplace in the UK*, today announced the integration of popular social media messaging platform, WhatsApp, to its UK marketplace. This new feature has been introduced as CarGurus continues to maximise return on investment for dealer partners while also improving the buying journey of car buyers.

During testing the new WhatsApp feature has consistently delivered outstanding results for dealers, with incremental increases in both lead volume and conversion rates**.

Much like the existing Managed Text/Chat functionality offered on CarGurus, the WhatsApp integration provides a fully managed communication program where specialists answer questions on behalf of dealers and deliver lead information directly to either a CRM system or specified inbox. Aside from aiding response times and avoiding missed opportunities, this also has the added benefit of freeing up dealers’ time to respond to emails, answer phone calls or manage walk-in customers. Dealers are also provided with a full transcript of conversations, allowing them to efficiently manage the customer’s onward car buying journey.

The implementation of WhatsApp also brings benefits to car buyers. In addition to experiencing faster response times to their enquiries, WhatsApp also allows customers to communicate with dealer representatives through a messaging platform that many are extremely familiar with. These attributes have led to WhatsApp being very popular amongst car buyers on CarGurus, with WhatsApp lead volumes for UK paying dealers currently growing at 10% week-on-week*.

Wendy Harris, Vice President of European Sales at CarGurus, said: "The integration of WhatsApp to the CarGurus platform demonstrates our commitment to continually develop tools that deliver improved ROI for our dealer partners. In this instance it is especially impactful because it also delivers a better consumer experience for car buyers, who benefit from faster response times and the convenience and familiarity of communicating via WhatsApp's hugely popular messaging service."

The WhatsApp feature is available now at no additional cost to all paying CarGurus dealers [in the UK].

Dealer Resources:

Dealers that are interested in learning more about CarGurus’ latest features, or how CarGurus are working with automotive charity Ben to provide important information for dealers during the challenging times our industry is facing can read about them in depth by visiting our Dealer Resource Centre.

-END-

*CarGurus is the fastest growing online automotive marketplace in the UK among its nearest competitors based on the percent change in average unique monthly visitors from Q1 2019 to Q1 2020 (Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform®, Custom-defined list includes CarGurus.CO.UK, Motors.CO.UK, AutorTrader.CO.UK, Gumtree.com)

** CarGurus.co.uk web analytics February 2020 to July 2020. Dealers in the UK who subscribed to CarGurus’ Managed Text/Chat product saw conversion rate increases > 8% when joining [and integrating the product with] WhatsApp. Weekly WhatsApp lead volumes [to UK paying dealers] have increased 71% since initially launched.

* WhatsApp lead volume growth [to UK paying dealers] (10% WoW) accurate at time of issue. CarGurus defines leads as user inquiries via its marketplace to dealers by phone calls, email, WhatsApp or managed text and chat.

For further information, please contact:
James Drake at CarGurus – UKPR@CarGurus.com / 0208 541 3434 / +44 07809 657178

How CarGurus Works:
CarGurus helps car shoppers search local car listings and quickly find great deals from top rated dealers. Every day, the company analyses millions of data points on hundreds of thousands of UK car listings to calculate each car’s Instant Market Value (IMV) or fair retail price. This data is used in combination with dealership ratings from other shoppers to rank and rate available cars results based on the quality of the deal: Great, Good, Fair, High or Overpriced. The site also provides transparency on how long the car has been on the forecourt and if it’s had a price drop. Consumers can contact dealers directly.

About CarGurus:
Founded in 2006 by Langley Steinert (also a co-founder of TripAdvisor), CarGurus (Nasdaq: CARG) is a global, online automotive marketplace connecting buyers and sellers of cars. The company uses proprietary technology, search algorithms and data analytics to bring trust and transparency to the automotive search experience and help users find great deals from top rated dealers. CarGurus is the most visited automotive shopping site in the U.S. (source: Comscore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform, Automotive – Information/Resources, Total Audience, Q1 2020, U.S. (Competitive set: CarGurus.com, Autotrader.com, Cars.com, TrueCar.com)). CarGurus launched in the UK in 2015 and is the fastest growing online automotive marketplace in the UK among its nearest competitors based on the percent change in average unique monthly visitors from Q1 2019 to Q1 2020 (Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform®, Custom-defined list includes CarGurus.CO.UK, Motors.CO.UK, AutorTrader.CO.UK, Gumtree.com). In 2019, CarGurus acquired UK-based PistonHeads.com, which it operates as an independent brand. In addition to the United Kingdom and the United States, CarGurus also operates an online marketplace in Canada.

CarGurus® is a registered trademark of CarGurus, Inc. All product names, trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.

To learn more about CarGurus visit www.cargurus.co.uk.

© 2020 CarGurus, Inc., All Rights Reserved.