The use of personalised videos in the automotive industry hit a major new landmark in March, with CitNOW recording a million videos made by customers in a single month.
The massive increase in the use of video in dealership showrooms and workshops cements the technology’s growing importance in fostering transparency and customer service in the automotive industry – the number of videos made by CitNOW increased by 28% from 2017 to 2018.
With March typically one of the busiest months of the year for car retailers, it comes as little surprise to see high video usage as new car handovers and used car listings are helped along by CitNOW’s video platform.
Demonstrating how global markets are now swiftly following the UK’s lead, the number of videos made for non-UK customers saw even more growth, with a surge of 51% on 2017 figures.
While video is now commonplace in the automotive retail industry, the CitNOW platform has come a long way since its inception, with just 242 videos made in March 2011.
No longer a luxury service, personalised videos are now expected by many customers; CitNOW videos were viewed more than 20 million times last year, almost 100 times more than the 215,540 views in 2013.
CitNOW CEO, Alistair Horsburgh, said, “Five years ago, we were producing a million videos for customers in a year. Now we’re making that number in a single month.
“These numbers are staggering and it just goes to show how the motoring industry in the UK has really embraced and adopted video, as well as the benefits it offers in a world where car buyers and workshop customers are time-poor but expect ever-increasing levels of service and transparency.
“It’s a message we’ve been telling automotive businesses for the last five years; if you’re not using personalised video as a tool, you will be left behind. Now you don’t have to just believe us – the numbers tell you everything should need to know.”
CitNOW is active in 55 countries across Europe, Asia and the USA, and works directly with 43 major car manufacturers globally.
