Carwow is to run auctions throughout the festive period to help dealers source high-quality used stock and respond quickly to the anticipated seasonal increases in consumer search activity.

Auctions will be hosted every day up to and including Saturday 23 December, and then again between Wednesday 27 December and Saturday 30 December. After a two-day New Year hiatus, Carwow’s daily auctions will resume on Tuesday 2 January.

Carwow has tracked consumer activity on its platform and identified a sharp uplift in both consumer searches and enquiries from Boxing Day. It found that on 30 December 2022, the average number of visitors was 29% higher than the daily average for November and December. With visits to Carwow up by 16% last month year-on-year, the online marketplace expects Christmas 2023 will be another strong period for web traffic.  

Sally Foote, Carwow’s chief commercial officer - Sell My Car, said: “Our data shows that consumer searches and enquiries really spike over the festive period. Many people, having done a long drive to visit friends and family, use some of that down-time between Boxing Day and New Year to be productive and tick things off their to-do list, be that planning holidays, New Year resolutions or changing their car. We see more people coming to Carwow to start researching the car - new or used - they might upgrade to in January, or how they might go about selling their current car in one of our online auctions. 

“There’ll be dealers up and down the UK working over that ‘Twixmas’ period (27-30 Dec) making the most of drivers having some time off work to go to visit showrooms. We want to ensure our dealers are equipped with the tools they need to source quality used stock to fill and replenish their forecourts.”

Carwow has also introduced a vehicle collection and delivery service for its auction customers, making the changeover process stress-free for dealers and consumers alike. Its support team will be available to assist with any sales or collections queries until close of business on Saturday 23 December, opening again from 27 December. It will also assist with any urgent collections on the 28, 29 and 30 December, with normal collections service resuming on Tuesday 2 January.