Industry's very best celebrated at the 15th annual Auto Trader Retailer Awards
Crompton Way Motors, Alex Scott, and Peter Vardy crowned Retailer of the Year
Yesterday (12th October) more than 150 of the UK’s most progressive car retailers gathered at London’s iconic 8 Northumberland Avenue for this year’s Auto Trader Retailer Awards, marking 15 years of celebrating the very best in automotive retail.
Due to the pandemic, the event marked the first physical Retailer Awards since 2019. Although the virtual events hosted in 2020 and 2021 didn’t diminish the celebrations, it was a pleasure to be able to celebrate in-person once again, and to hear the thunderous applause as 18 retailers lifted trophies in recognition for their exceptional customer service, digital excellence, and for successfully adapting to the challenges of the last two years.
The top accolade, the Retailer of the Year, was awarded to three businesses representing the very best of the best: Crompton Way Motors (under 50 cars); Alex Scott (50-100 cars); and Peter Vardy(over 100 cars).
Award winners were described as ‘truly inspirational’ and ‘the best-of-the-best’ by Auto Trader’s group sales directors, Rebecca Clark and Darren Moon, who presented the awards alongside COO, Catherine Faiers, and YouTube Director, Rory Reid.
From an engaging digital experience to outstanding customer service, the Retailer Awards recognised the top performing automotive retailers in the UK across seven different categories, including the Customer Experience Award. Based on one of the largest mystery shopping exercises of its type, the category saw 1,000 of Auto Trader’s best performing retailers gradually whittled down to just three deserving winners via three mystery shopping phases: email (1,000 retailers), telephone (500 retailers) and then a full digital audit (150 retailers).
The winners of the Customer Experience Award were Promotors (under 50 cars); Humphries and Parks (50-100 cars); and Harwoods (over 100 cars).
Of the seven categories, four were self-nomination: The Innovation Award, which recognised a retailer that had successfully implemented a bold innovation that’s markedly improved its business; The People & Culture Award, which identified those businesses that are going above and beyond to provide the very best working culture for its colleagues; and a new award category for 2022, The Sustainability Initiative Award, which showcased the best examples of businesses taking steps to lower their carbon emissions and help combat climate change.
Retailers were also able to self-nominate for The Rising Star Award, which identifies those burgeoning businesses that are destined to set the industry alight. This year’s very deserving winner was Car Connect Bristol.
This year saw the highest number of self-nominations ever to enter the Awards, which were judged by an independent panel of experts, including Matt Collins, Industry Manager at Google UK; Dave Coleman, Managing Director, and co-founder of The Carbon Literacy Project; Sarah Hughes, Head of Automotive Industry Partnerships at Ben; and Nicholas Farhi, Partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants.
Commenting on this year’s winners, Auto Trader’s Group Sales Director, Rebecca Clark, said: “Not only did we use a very prestigious judging panel of experts this year, but also the opinions of thousands of car buyers, an in-depth analysis of thousands of data points from across our marketplace, and also one of the largest mystery shopping exercises of its kind. This year’s finalists and overall winners absolutely represent the very best of British automotive retailing and we’re thrilled to be able to recognise and celebrate their incredible success. The industry’s response to the pandemic has been hugely impressive – the commitment, the innovation and the dedication to service has been incredible to see. We have never been prouder to be a part of this industry or to be a partner for our customers.”
Winners of the 2022 Auto Trader Retailer Awards:
As well as trophies, the winners were provided with a host of assets to promote their success to potential car buyers, including window stickers, digital logos, and social media posts.
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