Half of Motorpoint annual retail sales made online
More than half of retail vehicle sales by Motorpoint Group were made online in the year to the end of March.
The independent car retailer, which has 14 branches including at Oldbury and Aston in Birmingham, sold 68,000 vehicles including 25,000 wholesale sales via the group's Auction4Cars.com platform.
In total 52 per cent of retail sales were online, over 22,000 vehicles, with 3,300 sold last month alone.
In the first three months of this year online sales grew 89 per cent against last year, with home delivery for 57 per cent of those.
Chief executive Mark Carpenter said: "Motorpoint continues to take market share by offering great value to our customers, combined with a huge choice of high quality vehicles and a strong customer service focus. Our employees have been exemplary in their commitment to the business during the year, with team engagement scores reaching their highest level in the second half of the year. The continued safety of our employees and customers remains of utmost importance as we prepare to reopen branches this month.
"I am delighted at the progress we have made by retaining and growing our technology and marketing teams during the lockdowns. Our focus on growing our e-commerce and home delivery channels continued in the second half of the year with further milestones achieved. Thanks to our focus on innovation, along with our low-cost, agile operating model and market leading brand strength, Motorpoint is well positioned to take advantage of the continued shift of consumers to purchase online, whilst also continuing to access the currently larger in-branch market."
The group has prioritised investment in e-commerce, launching contactless collections, a free home delivery service, a 14-day money back guarantee and, most recently, a fully digital part exchange and finance offering enabling customers to complete their purchase process entirely online.
Group revenue for the year was 29 per cent lower compared to the previous year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Government-imposed lockdowns. Group operating profit broadly broke even in the second half, despite all retail branches being closed for more than four of the six months of the period.
