Satisfied Customers and Long-Term Parkers: Modern Parking Management for Supermarket Parking Lots
German cities are facing severe parking shortages. This is no surprise, given that the number of vehicles in Germany is steadily increasing. Between 2008 and 2023, the number of passenger cars rose by more than 20 percent to 48.8 million.[1] Commuters, residents, and shoppers in cities compete for scarce parking spaces. Supermarkets are particularly affected by this trend. As places people visit for daily necessities, they are located precisely where parking space is often limited.
More and more supermarkets are already implementing parking management systems in their parking lots or are considering introducing such systems to keep their parking spaces available for their own customers. Depending on local conditions and the varying numbers of non-customer and long-term parkers, different approaches are available for this purpose.
Barrier Systems: Effective Against Long-Term Parkers
In densely populated neighborhoods, residents often use supermarket parking lots overnight so they don’t have to spend time searching for an open spot on one of the surrounding streets after work. This is particularly frustrating for supermarket shoppers who arrive early in the morning to find the lot already full. If you want to reliably keep your parking lot free of long-term parkers, installing a barrier system at the entrance and exit is the solution. Supermarkets should not underestimate the purchase and maintenance costs. In addition, barriers are a popular target for vandalism, which in turn can result in replacement and repair costs.
Mandatory Parking Discs: An Effective Measure Against Non-Customer Parkers
Supermarket parking lots in busy neighborhoods are often used by non-customers to avoid paying parking fees at other establishments, such as movie theaters or shopping centers. Actual customers can’t find an open spot and end up shopping at other stores with better parking options. Many supermarkets therefore impose a maximum parking duration with a parking disc requirement during business hours. An external service provider monitors parked vehicles and issues citations to those who park illegally. When implementing this type of parking management, supermarkets should consider the risk of also upsetting paying supermarket customers who have forgotten their parking discs.
License Plate Recognition:A Customer-Friendly Solution to Parking Pressure
The most advanced concept for parking management in supermarket parking lots is Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR). Supermarkets find this to be the most customer-friendly solution, as it eliminates the need for parking discs. Cameras at the entrance and exit capture the license plates of parked vehicles and determine their parking duration. If a driver exceeds the maximum parking time allowed during business hours or parks in a no-parking zone at night, a penalty fee is assessed. The driver receives notification of this by mail; no on-site parking enforcement staff is required.
In addition, supermarkets can use an ANPR solution to make their parking spaces available for a fee after closing time—for example, as resident parking—and thus help reduce local parking pressure. ANPR does not require investment in parking ticket machines or barrier systems for access control. In conjunction with parking apps, drivers can pay their parking fees cashlessly. The camera technology used can also help deter burglars and thieves and prevent vandalism in the parking lot.
Custom Permissions for Different User Groups
The license plate recognition software allows supermarkets to extend the parking time for specific license plates or to create unlimited parking permits. This enables suppliers, sales representatives, and employees to use the parking lot on a permanent basis, regardless of the specified maximum parking duration. Vehicles belonging to tradespeople can be granted short-term parking access for one or more days. The maximum parking duration can also be extended for older adults and people with disabilities who need more time to shop. If multiple stores share the parking lot in question, they also have access to the software to adjust a vehicle’s permitted parking time—for example, for visits to restaurants or hair salons.
Example: Edeka “Johannisthaler” supermarket in Berlin
Since early 2020, two license plate scanners have been installed at the parking lot entrances of the Berlin Edeka “Johannisthaler” supermarket. The grocery retailer is located directly on a major thoroughfare. A five-minute walk away is what the shopping center claims to be Berlin’s largest. High parking demand, especially on weekends, is the norm here. Edeka store owner Hasan Akyol reports that, particularly in recent years, non-store customers have increasingly occupied his 135 customer parking spaces to avoid paying parking fees in the shopping center’s parking garage. For supermarket customers, this often meant driving around in circles until a spot became available. The Berlin retailer was no longer willing to put up with this situation. For him, automatic license plate recognition has proven to be the most customer-friendly and effective way to keep the parking spaces available for his customers.
“At first, we had the cars towed—and unfortunately, we even ran into the wrong people who were still at the snack bar next door after shopping. With the traditional parking disc, complaints started piling up. People often forget to put it in their car and then—understandably—get upset about the penalty fee. With license plate recognition, on the other hand, our customers don’t have to worry about a thing—and since we’ve had the solution up and running, they’ve always been able to find a parking spot. And if you happen to get caught up in a conversation, that’s no problem either; a few bonus minutes can be added to any license plate in the blink of an eye,” explains Hasan Akyol.
Edeka “Johannisthaler” can independently adjust parking times for customers and employees beyond the specified maximum parking duration using browser-based access to the ANPR software. ParkRaum-Management PRM GmbH is responsible for maintaining the system, tracking parking violations, and responding to inquiries from drivers.
Side Note: Digital Parking Management for the City of Tomorrow
As part of an ANPR solution, it would be conceivable to seamlessly integrate supermarket parking lots into existing urban traffic management plans. City governments could use data from the ANPR system to measure parking lot occupancy, thereby better managing traffic flows and optimizing the transportation infrastructure. This more efficient use of parking space—for example, as resident parking outside of business hours—would reduce traffic caused by people searching for parking in urban areas and, consequently, lowerCO2 emissions.
Selecting the Right Parking Management Service Provider
When working with a parking management service provider, supermarkets should prioritize clearly visible and easy-to-understand signage, as well as competent customer service. This applies not only—but especially—when implementing ANPR solutions. Although ANPR is already beginning to gain traction in Germany, the public has not yet “gotten used to” the new technology. Clear instructions at the parking lot and straightforward answers to questions help alleviate reservations and foster understanding of the use of ANPR.
If supermarkets decide to implement a parking management system that requires the use of parking discs, they should ensure that the contracted service provider assigns understanding, well-trained enforcement staff to the parking lot. Having accessible points of contact and easy-to-access leniency policies—such as those based on presenting a receipt—help prevent conflicts and contribute to customer satisfaction.
Supermarkets should also find out in advance whether the service provider forwards claims for parking violations to collection agencies. Parking management service providers such as ParkRaum-Management PRM GmbH, based in Erlangen, Middle Franconia—which handles debt collection for vehicles registered in Germany in-house—typically manage parking violations through their own customer service department, offer generous leniency policies, and thereby ensure more satisfied parkers. The service provider’s Google reviews, for example, can serve as a transparent indicator of fair and accommodating customer service.
Supermarkets should also address compliance with GDPR requirements when discussing matters with a potential service provider. For example, data collected during parking enforcement must be processed in compliance with the GDPR. Under no circumstances may this data be sold to third parties for other purposes, such as advertising. Reputable ANPR service providers will also point out on their own initiative that fully automated data transfer for the purpose of penalizing parking violations is not legally permissible under the GDPR. Parking management companies, such as PRM, therefore manually verify each license plate once more before initiating a parking violation.
Introduction of Parking Management in Supermarket Parking Lots
Supermarkets are well advised to seek professional assistance when implementing parking management in their parking lots. Companies such as PRM have many years of experience in parking management; they provide advice on selecting the appropriate technology, taking the on-site situation into account, and on developing a sensible pricing structure. In addition, they handle the installation and maintenance of the technology as well as the operation of the parking management system. The latter includes enforcing parking violations and providing customer service to parkers. This allows supermarkets to manage their parking facilities in a customer-friendly manner without any effort on their part.
[1] https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/daten/verkehr/verkehrsinfrastruktur-fahrzeugbestand#entwicklung-des-kraftfahrzeugbestands
