Trader Media Group is changing its name to Auto Trader in the coming weeks and rolling out a new website redesign, it was reported today.
The redesign is part of the company’s investment in the now fully-digital product and is the latest big change after the completion of Guardian Media Group’s sale of its 50.1 per cent stake in Trader Media Group to Apax Partners for £619m, which makes Apax the sole shareholder.
Last month the company also announced has signed a 15 year lease on a new Manchester city centre base, which will see it take 60,000sq ft at Number One First Street. 600 staff will make the move in May, which will mean the closure of 7 satellite offices in the North West.
But now the plan for Auto Trader, according to consumer marketplace director Nick Gee, is to continue streamlining Trader Media Group’s brands – such as Bike Trader and Van Trader – under the Auto Trader name and simplify the digital offering for users, he told The Drum magazine.
Of all traffic going to the Auto Trader site, 60 per cent is now coming from mobile devices, and of all views coming specifically from the desktop version of the website, a quarter of traffic now comes from tablet devices.
“Before, our apps, mobile sites and websites were all a little bit fragmented in look and feel and brand. The refresh of the desktop website now aligns with the Android app, the iPhone app and the mobile website, so they’re all starting to look like the same Auto Trader. We designed a cross-platform style guide that we’re going to use moving forward to have a seamless Auto Trader that users use to find their cars.”
