Exterior vs. Interior Inventory Photos?

[Carsten]

I'm sure it's extra effort but wouldn't it depend on the model/trim ?

For some reason I look at a lot of 4 Runner listings and lots either try to hide that it's a RWD or just don't know that I'm wanting to see if it's a 4x4.

So, if you have a 4WD it would make lots of sense to make sure that it's in the slider of images.

 

[joe.pistell]

For some reason I look at a lot of 4 Runner listings and lots either try to hide that it's a RWD or just don't know that I'm wanting to see if it's a 4x4.

4WD it would make lots of sense to make sure that it's in the slider of images.

Carsten,
It's an industry wide epidemic... and velocity dealers think the only way to turn iron is to flush profits down the drain.

"Velocity Detox" anyone?

 

[joe.pistell]

Nothing has been more enlightening in my career than becoming a customer.

After reading this thread, I decided to make a change of order to pics on a few vehicles to see what happens. I'm trying to track VDPs on the ones that I changed. Maybe that'll be in vain, but it's worth a shot.

Richie, I totally get your game plan, you want to experiment and you want data to validate. I am not a data scientist, but beware the ultra-small data set.

I reviewed some Google Analytics events data, where they were tracking the percentage of shoppers that made it to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. photo, in a 24-photo carousel, and as expected it was a bell-shaped curve, with the top of the bell being photo #8-10.

Richie, George Nenni has the large dataset you desire. George is an UNBIASED authentic GA4 analyst that has hundreds of dealers and he sees enormous amounts of data.

SUMMARY: Merchandising is like being a fisherman. George Nenni data shows the majority of your VDP viewers will see pics 1-10, then click back to the SRP (if you're lucky!). Remember, the average time spent shopping on your site, 2-4 mins is not a long time. You need to set that VDP hook fast! Don't pollute the VDP with DEALER FLUFF, sell the unique benefits for that VIN!

p.s. You have thousands of unique car shoppers on your SRP/VPS each month and your store closes less that 2% of all of them. Be like Alex Snyder, pick a new ride and go car shopping with a serious vigor.

 

[carmudgeon]

Your photo order should emulate the walk around, your salesman offers to the customer on the lot. The customer will be walked around the car as the salesman draws attention (zooms in) to value-added features as they walk around the car.

First shoot the 3/4 hero shot. Second, scan the 3/4 shot for value added features. Shoot a closeup of wheels, trim levels, running boards anything of value, visible in the first shot. The 3/4 shot offers context. Zoom in with your camera, the same way as salesman would draw attention… in, to shoot closeups of the features of the car. Shoot a wide landscape shot and then a series of closeups.

Reposition and shoot the wide landscape head-on exterior shot, then zoom in and shoot a close-up of anything of value visible in the head-on shot. Air dams, headlights, tow hooks etc.

Shoot one wide to get context, zoom in to get value. This is precisely the dance between shopper and salesman that occurs on the lot that has proven to be effective, on the lot.

With few exception shoppers are going to be more reluctant than the salesman. A salesman’s gonna make commission for the sale and a shopper is going to spend $60,000.

The shopper naturally sees the car from a distance. The salesman draws their attention in. A shopper will see wide, a salesman will zoom in close to show value. Your photo order should be a balance of the two throughout your photo walk around. Information in context of the walk around, modeled after the experience of being there.

Every once in a while, I have the pleasure of meeting a shopper that flew some great distance to buy a truck from one of my dealerships. And the most common comment I get is “I felt like I was right there.”

And that’s what you want.

 

[Carsten]

I'm sold!

This was a very convincing point.

 

[carmudgeon]

Realistically, all you need of the exterior is the three-quarter hero shot (front and driver side) and the same shot from the opposite corner (rear and passenger side). You’ll have the entire exterior in two photos.

Pepper in some close-ups of value-added features. Wheels, tire tread, trim badging, running boards, etc. appropriate for each car. A base Corolla won’t have as many but a loaded Yukon Denali…
Typically more expensive cars have more options. More options require more photos to sell each vehicle according to how it is equipped.

 

[joe.pistell]

The biggest reason for the change is that websites (incl. 3rd parties) were showing thumbnails on the VDPs of just the first 4-9 photos, then the user had to page through to see more. (Now we see the first few thumbnails on SRPs as well.) Also, at the time, we were learning that a huge indicator of shopper intent was photo engagement and we were looking for ways to improve that metric. Ultimately, by providing the most relevant and differentiating pictures up front, we were hoping to deliver a better guest experience. The result is that we measured a significant photo engagement increase along with increased 3rd party lead volume immediately after the change. We've never gone back.

Some DISC-genius here! Mad respect!
Let's dig in a bit.

Cars.com
SRP photo preview: 1st 5 pics.
VDP thumbnail photo preview: 1st 6 pics.

Gurus
SRP photo preview: 1st 6 pics.
VDP thumbnail photo preview: 1st 7 pics.

AutoTrader
SRP photo preview: -none-
VDP thumbnail photo preview: 1st 3 pics.

Dealer Site: Dealeron
SRP photo preview: 1st 6 pics.
VDP thumbnail photo preview: 1st 4 pics.

1. The hook
- 2 external (front and rear 3/4)
- 2 internal ( wide angle dash and front seats)
- 1-3 high value features

Nailed it!

Merchandising is a Ad spend force multiplier (& it's dirt cheap!!!)

This is why thought leaders find DealerRefresh networking to be so powerful .

 

[joe.pistell]

Years ago I reviewed some Google Analytics events data, where they were tracking the percentage of shoppers that made it to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. photo, in a 24-photo carousel, and as expected it was a bell-shaped curve, with the top of the bell being photo #8-10. So knowing that most consumers will only make it to the first several photos, if the vehicle has rear-camera, navigation, heated steering wheel, optional 3rd row, I would want to make sure I put those pics in the first several. @joe.pistell is a pro at this, and goes beyond by adding descriptive text. Consumer on smart phones are swiping VDP photos like a Pinterest shopping experience. They are not reading the text, but they swipe through several photos to see how the vehicle is equipped

1st look, GA4*, Reymore.com (last 15 days):
Setup: Reymore inventory turning at 12x, no CarGurus, CARS on life support. AutoMagic Labs running the merchandising and SEMD running the paid/organic marketing.

13.6 (avg # Image clicks* per USER, per VIN)
71% of inventory avg's 10 or more image clicks* per USER per VIN (a strong number)
60% of Reymore's used inventory is off brand (non-GM).

Example: This VIN avg's 12.9 Image clicks* per USER:

Used 2022 GMC Canyon Denali For Sale in Central Square NY | GMC Canyon Central Square

*SEMD Super Shopper GA4 Report.

 

[Carsten]

So, how are you creating your stats?
Are you comparing against another shop with the same exact inventory and prices?
Or are you just using historical data which may or may not indicate a true benefit.

 

[joe.pistell]

So, how are you creating your stats?

*SEMD Super Shopper GA4 Report. It's a rollup of asc_media-interactions in GA4.

Are you comparing against another shop with the same exact inventory and prices?
Or are you just using historical data which may or may not indicate a true benefit.

Carsten, my intent isn't to show off my stuff, for 15 yrs I've been here, fully open source, sharing bleeding edge thoughts (in hopes that others would post openly (i.e. @Ryan Everson) and I could profit from other's ideas).

Here it is line by line:

• 13.6 (avg # Image clicks* per USER, per VIN)
  This is a data share that I am seeing in the field. This is an untracked number in our space. My opinion of asc_media-interactions is stupidly simple and biz smart. @Jeff Kershner would call it "DUH! why isnt everyone doing this?" Carsten, before you counter, go deeply into the zero sum game of car sales AND couple it with car shopinig itself is a task with limited amount of avail. time to shop. Then explore the "avg # Image clicks* per USER, per VIN" and how that mapps back to zero sum and time challenged shopping.
  
  
• 71% of inventory avg's 10 or more image clicks* per USER per VIN (a strong number)
  A highly engaged audience looks at lots of pics. Look at your inventory from the top down. What share of your inventory has shoppers that are 'engaged'?
  
  
• 60% of Reymore's used inventory is off brand (non-GM).
  Logically, like all dealers, your off-brand VINs are your lowest performing VINs (relative to your in-brand VINs). This inventory mix will swing top down data. Logical?

p.s. I openly cherish others pointing our my errors. It always destroys assumptions that I create and it always opens new doors to explore.