Spot On

As malls grow larger and U.S. shoppers continue their love affair with large vehicles, parking is a growing concern for many retailers. The more time a shopper spends trying to find a spot, the less time she spends in your store. Using a new technology, retailers and malls now have the potential to make their parking lots more efficient and user-friendly.

Using its patented M3 camera vision system, wireless sensors and PASEServer, on-site parking management platform Park Assist helps drivers find spaces and park their vehicles as quickly as possible. Park Assist managing director Richard Joffe says that while malls and retailers have long been using technology in their stores, they have neglected an important location where many shopping experiences begin.

“We wanted to find a way to use all of the technologies being used inside the shopping center and bring it to the parking garage,” Joffe says. “It really has the potential to change the customer experience.”

With Park Assist, drivers no longer have to slowly creep through a multi-floor garage and turn blind corners to look for spots. The M3 cameras detect the presence of vehicles in each space and update LED indicators and digital signage around the garage to direct customers to vacant spaces.

Les Cowie, vice president of vertical markets at Amano McGann, the U.S. distributor of Park Assist, says it takes a lot of the hassle — and traffic — out of parking.

“It guides you right to available spaces,” he says. “You immediately know what level to go to and what direction to find a space. The power of it is the convenience of parking fast.”

Changing the landscape
Jeff Becker, a vice president at Amano McGann, says that in busier malls where parking is a time-consuming battle, Park Assist can radically change the landscape.

“People are in a much better mood when they get inside because they’re not driving around for 25 minutes trying to find a space,” he says. “They spend more time inside at the retailers.”

Park Assist is currently being used in a growing number of shopping centers across the U.S., including Santa Monica Place and Westfield Century City in Southern California. At the Century City mall, it was shown to decrease the time it took to find a parking spot by 55 percent.

When it comes time for a shopper to leave, the system can also help customers find their vehicles quickly and easily. Cameras in each parking spot take photos of the license plates and hold them in the database. Customers can simply walk up to a kiosk, punch in the first few digits of the license plate number and the kiosk will show them exactly where they parked.

Joffe says the system has shown to produce a 2 to 5 percent rise in store traffic at malls where it’s been deployed.

What’s more, license plate tracking allows the system to ensure that employees are parking where they are supposed to. Putting fully-customizable operational control in the hands of the garage, retailers can also enforce 60 to 90 minute “short stays.”

“We are seeing enormous demand from the retail sector,” Joffe says. “They are seeing a genuine rise in not just operational values but in” increased store traffic.