Lead management firm Dealerweb, which compiled the data, said sales conversion increased 1.5 percentage points to 35% for used vehicles.
Overall enquiries were relatively static with an increase of 0.2%, while test drives fell by 5.6%. Used finance and GAP sales increased by 5.1% and 6.1% respectively.
Martin Hill, managing director of Dealerweb said: “In a tough retail environment it is clear that dealers worked hard to deliver a positive month of growth in February.
The data shows that a blended retail strategy is a crucial part of today’s dealership. The approach relies on a strong link between the customer’s online and physical journey.”
Research by Dealerweb shows that of those buyers who selected phone or email as their preferred means of communication, around half (53%) preferred a phone call during the traditional ‘9-to-5’ working day, while 47% preferred email.
However, outside of these conventional working hours, the balance between the two shifts dramatically towards email, with almost two thirds (65%) preferring email communication.
