Two years after being written off, physical auctions are actually being operated again by all of the principal vehicle remarketing providers, reports Shoreham Vehicle Auctions (SVA).
It said online-only auction operators succumbed to pressure from each vendors and buyers during Q4 2023 to operate physical auctions to create market confidence and take care of the challenge of multiple price realignments.
“Even those firms which have been running ‘online only’ auctions since 2020 are actually investing in refurbishing facilities and re-employing staff to get back to physical,” it noted.
SVA said it was one in all the primary auction firms to return to physical auctions post pandemic.
Managing director Alex Wright said he has all the time believed that vehicles being driven through the auction halls in front of physical buyers brings confidence to the used market, particularly when trading conditions are tough.
“In Q4 prices modified day by day because the market realigned itself to answer an increase in latest automobile production, improved used automobile supply and high rates of interest that were impacting consumer demand. Buyers were so uneasy they stopped buying vehicles which made vendors anxious which caused market distress,” said Wright.
During Q4, buyers continued to attend physical auction to gauge market sentiment including online buyers who rarely make a physical trip to Shoreham.
“Vendors joined the buyers in visiting auctions in person to gauge market conditions for themselves. Together the used market realised the pain in Q4 was a short-term blip and that the 2024 market was still strong,” he said.
Through the tough Q4 used market online only auction providers received huge pressure from vendors to begin trading physically again because they were often achieving lower conversion rates and costs than auctions trading in a hybrid physical/online capability.
Based on Wright, this pressure has been price it: “The return to physical by all the foremost providers helped provide additional market confidence in January which has translated into healthy conversion rates and costs.
“Even the net buyers are bidding on and buying more cars as they’ll see physical buyers within the halls. Reassurance is an enormous a part of the used market, and it’s there in bucket loads now the complete industry has gone physical again.”
This Article First Appeared At www.am-online.com
