Internet retail has been growing in popularity over the past few years and coronavirus lockdowns have forced even more people online. But will internet retail spell the end for our high streets and shopping centers? And what does this mean for parking? In this Quick Question, our parking experts explore the impact of eCommerce, suggest ways to entice shoppers back to malls, and consider what silver linings this growing trend might have for the parking industry.
Brooke Bustle, Regional Sales Manager at ParkMobile
“The rise in internet retail has affected the entire parking industry in recent years, with fewer consumers getting out of their homes to conduct their commerce, there’s been a drop in demand, but this has put a light on contactless and mobile payments like never before. The industry was trending towards contactless and mobile pay options before the pandemic hit, but this new wave has pushed the industry towards implementing new innovation at a much more rapid pace. This has put a spotlight on the tools that operators have in place to ensure a safe and contactless parking experience.”
Denis Brazzolotto, Head of Sales and Marketing at Orbility
“The rise of internet retail has affected shopping centers who need to find new ways of getting their customers back by developing new services and offering a state-of-the-art experience during their stay. For retail visitors, parking is, most of the time, the first and last point of contact with shopping centers so their experience needs to be as perfect and pleasant as possible. Thanks to the feedback of its customers and partners across the industry, Orbility has developed a wide panel of flexible and innovative and frictionless solutions; including cashless payment with a credit card and mobile phone and online validation for both shopping center managers and shops.”
Ben Fox, Head of Marketing at ParkVia
“Right now, airport parking is an environment where every booking counts because there are fewer people flying so there is a much smaller market. But online channels and pre-booking have been growing out of proportion of the market since ParkVia was founded 12 years ago. These last six months have seen a rapid acceleration of growth in that market share. For us, the biggest impact is that we have a lot more car parks who want to get on the platform because they know if they’re not online they’re missing out on bookings, and right now, no one can afford to miss out on bookings.”
Eveliina Raitanen, Sales Manager at Portier
“The rise in internet retail has not affected us yet. In the future, it could be that shopping malls will need smaller parking facilities since the customers will do most of their shopping online. This will increase the need for better technologies in parking to utilize the whole parking garage effectively.”
