That’s the indication we’re getting from inflation, as we look at what’s happening with used car pricing and supply chains and another factor. So everything is lining up for this to be €“ particularly with the rate increases of course. Good year €“ very good year and the beginning of a big cycle for insurers. In terms of the details on the traffic, I don’t have the details in terms of how much is up, but it ramped up very quickly in January from December. Double-digit percentages plus. And we’ve seen it €“ we see it. It came up and it ramped into January, and it’s kind of plateaued. And it plateaued at a significantly higher level than it was in the last part of last calendar year. Also, industry folks are reporting increases in shopping behavior.
J.D. Power came out with a report I think a week and half, two weeks ago it said that, the percentage of consumers shopping for insurance is the highest since they started tracking. So again, nothing about that is surprising, right? We know that, everybody got the rates increased on them over the past year or so or just about everybody. And those rate increases were not small 10% sometimes 15%, 20%. So if you’re a consumer, even if the economy is good you’re probably going to go and see if you can save money somewhere else. If you go to shop your €“ a big percentage of those €“ of you are going to wind up on QuinStreet insurance marketplaces. So good solid ramp and participation by consumers and not €“ again not unexpected and that should be a continued positive driver of revenue and insurance for us.
The rate increases don’t reflect themselves directly in our pricing. But they certainly give the clients more surplus with which they can spend on marketing and higher lifetime value than they would have without the rate increases which means that the level that they can spend or the pricing they can spend can be higher. So there’s not a super direct connection, but there’s a very strong connection between the rate increases and what the carriers are doing. What we’ve generally seen with the carriers that have gotten their rates increased to the levels that they think are working is good strong demand and good strong pricing for the segments of consumers across the board. It’s what you would hope and expect is the rate is now reflective of a healthy economic model and they’re able to spend like they would in a normal positive cycle on that €“ on attracting those segments and on underwriting.
So that’s probably the best I can do on that.
Jason Kreyer: That’s perfect. Thank you, Doug, I appreciate it.
Doug Valenti: Thank you, Jason.
Operator: Our next question comes from John Campbell with Stephens. Please state your question.
John Campbell: Hey, guys. Good afternoon and Happy New Year.
Doug Valenti: Hey, John.
John Campbell: Hey. Doug back to the guidance, I mean, really good revenue outlook. Obviously, the midpoint on the EBITDA it looks like 90 bps of kind of compression year-over-year. And you just touched on this, but I want to make sure, I get a good grip on it. So it sounds like it’s not a mix shift issue. It’s basically you guys staffed up a good bit to basically handle a higher level of insurance than what you’re seeing today and maybe what you’re expecting to see in the quarter or two ahead. But as the top line continues to kind of lift from here we should €“ I guess, are we expected to see better-than-average incremental margins maybe as you move into the next fiscal year? Is that the way to think about it?
