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Philkotse Q3 2020 Insights: Going digital is the new normal

Shifting marketing strategies by going online.

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted our normal day-to-day lives. In the Philippines, a lot of industries are struggling to make ends meet, which resulted in a feeling of uncertainty. The local automotive industry is one of the industries that have been greatly affected by the pandemic. Auto sales in the country dropped drastically especially when strict quarantine measures were implemented in March and April.

Total Coronavirus cases in the philippines

However, it is now slowly recovering from its loss as car brands in the country shifted its gear when it comes to making ends meet. The said idea is also what we've seen when we analyzed the data from Philkotse's online platform and the whole local automotive industry

According to the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA), the total car sales in the first nine months of 2020 is 148,012 units. The said number of units sold accounts for a 44.6 percent decrease in sales as compared to the same period last 2019.

Monthly new car sales

The culprit for that massive sales drop can be attributed to the pandemic. Local auto sales started to gain its momentum back in June as it tallied 15,578 units sold. The car brands in the Philippines managed to achieve that number by changing their approach and overall strategy. Several car brands launched promos that come with an enticing deal. Moreover, having a personal car these days is becoming more of a necessity since people are afraid to get infected by the virus when taking public transportation

Maximizing the digital platform

But, other than the said reasons, car brands in the Philippines shifted its marketing strategy to be able to reach potential clients more effectively, efficiently, and safer during the pandemic. Car brands went head-on in developing their respective online showrooms and maximized the digital platform to reach potential clients and to increase brand awareness. Car companies also used social media to their advantage by coming up with different marketing campaigns and virtual car launches.

By doing all these, car brands in the Philippines can safely and effectively promote their product while potential customers are sitting in the comfort of their homes. In fact, the local automotive industry recorded a total of 24,523 units sold in September 2020. This is one of the clear indications that going digital is the new normal.

Philkotse helps car buyers have an informed decision

In line with that, Philkotse's online automotive platform showed a significant increase in traffic across different sections of its website. The chunk of Philkotse's traffic is still brought by the Car Listing section. In fact, it registered an average of 3.2 percent increase per month, which indicates the buying interest of Philkotse's website visitors. On the other hand, Philkotse's Car News & Reviews section comes in as the second most traffic generator of the website, and it has a monthly average increase of 10.3 percent. This tells us that Philkotse's visitors are checking the latest news in the motoring industry as well as reading car reviews that would help them have an informed decision before purchasing a vehicle. Aside from Car News & Reviews, Philkotse's newly launched Car Guide section has been gaining momentum. It registered a percent 24.4 average monthly increase when it comes to traffic.

Philkotse Overview in Q3/2020

Users are browsing Philkotse's different sections before making a final decision. Car Listing continues to be the most viewed section followed by Car News & Reviews.

(*) Average monthly growth rate of session
Eg. Every month, the traffic to Car Listing increased by 3.2%, on average

The Car Guide section is where a visitor can view the updated specs and price list of vehicles available in the Philippine market. It goes hand-in-hand with Philkotse's Car News & Reviews in helping car buyers have an informed decision before making the actual purchase. Overall, Philkotse's monthly traffic in Q3 2020 is more than two million visitors, which translates to a 25 percent increase as compared to Q2. In addition, the organic impression on Google search tallied at more than 35 million, accounting for a 9 percent increase compared to Q2.

philkotse overview in q3/2020

Steady rise of female car buyers on Philkotse

Speaking of website visitors, the percentage gap between men and women users on Philkotse.com decreased in Q3 2020. The number of female visitors or users in Philkotse's online automotive platform increased from 33.04 percent in Q3 2019 to 45.22 percent in Q3 2020. As such, female car buyers who are visiting Philkotse have increased significantly. This could mean that car brands should re-align their approach when it comes to promoting their products. Moreover, car brands should take into account the steady rise of potential female car buyers. Overall, the coronavirus pandemic has challenged the local automotive industry. It suddenly forced car brands to shift their strategies and maximize the benefits and market reach that the digital platform can offer. This is why Philkotse continues to find ways on how to further improve its automotive online platform. The team behind Philkotse is driven to optimize and make it better in order to extend its reach and to help Filipino car buyers drive home their dream cars

Number of users are rising and female purchasing power is becoming stronger than ever