AuctionsPlus has long carried the perception that smaller offerings of cattle are not suited for the platform, with small lots traditionally making up a minor percentage of the catalogue. Indeed, it was perceived that smaller scale cattle vendors traditionally sold through saleyards – with online selling viewed as unviable due to the belief that the buyers operating on the platform were generally looking for at least a “deck” of cattle. An analysis of lot sizes offered through the weekly national cattle sales demonstrates that there has been a substantial rise of smaller sized lots offered on AuctionsPlus during 2020 and 2021.
In 2020, the number of lots with less than 10 head offered increased 265%, with 3,173 lots listed – up from 870 lots in 2019. This growth continued in 2021, rising another 51% from 2020, to 4,779 lots, as at late November. The myth of needing large lines of cattle to sell on the online platform has been largely debunked by this growth, with results starting to swing in favor of selling smaller sized lots online. Contributing to the growth has been the Covid induced disruptions throughout 2020 and 2021. This disrupted period encouraged many vendors to take the plunge to sell online in 2020, and given the growth in 2021, it appears many vendors were happy to return. Furthermore, the strong market in 2020 and 2021, strengthened by the season, has enticed producers to sell online – enabling them to control their reserve price levels and be a price setter, rather than a price taker. With producers also searching far and wide to restock and rebuild herd numbers, their willingness to purchase smaller lots has increased, given the extreme tightness within the national market.
Since 2016, 4,350 different vendors have listed lots of cattle of less than 10 head. In 2020, 1,363 vendors used the platform for the first time, with a further 1,604 vendors using AuctionsPlus for the first time in 2021. The retention rate in 2021 has been 87%, indicating that the majority of users who utilized online selling for the first time in 2020 have returned.
Not surprising, another lot size which has also seen some considerable growth is the 11-20 head range, which has followed the trajectory of its smaller counterpart. Although the number of lots offered has been historically higher than 1-10 head, 2020 and 2021 again proved to be a popular year for the range, increasing 149% in 2020 to 4,653 lots offered, and a further 14% in 2021 to 5,304 lots. Interestingly, the 1-10 and 11-20 head lots are the only two segments to post increases so far in 2021, with all other lot size ranges dropping from 2020 numbers.