For almost everyone, buying a new home starts online. When a potential buyer begins searching real estate listings, after narrowing the search based on geography and budget, it’s the photos that draw their interest. Why? Photos allow people to envision themselves in the home – to see their life playing out in the house.
While buying a house is typically the largest purchase in a person’s life, buying a car is the second largest. So, why do we still go online and see no photos, or, stock photos for in-market inventory? Would you buy a house without ever seeing a photo of it first?
The real estate shopping experience is similar to that of a car shopper. That’s why the real estate and vehicle marketing strategies should be mirrored – with an emphasis on images.
In fact, 40% of consumers are likely to purchase a vehicle they see online without seeing the vehicle in person.
That means almost half of car-shoppers are willing to make a purchasing decision without ever putting a foot in the vehicle. That’s a lot of pressure on your images to deliver the right impression.
Cox Automotive recently completed a study that shines a light on the importance of vehicle images and the value they bring to your inventory. Did you know taking multiple custom photos makes a big difference for VDP views? Used vehicles with multiple images saw a 262% increase in VDP clicks for used/CPO and 77% for new inventory vs. stock photos.