Relaxed shopping experience before the holidays instead of parking chaos

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As soon as one or more public holidays are approaching, supermarkets are in a state of emergency. Although the stores are usually only closed for one or two days at a time, customers are all stocking up on a wide range of supplies at the same time: they circle the parking lot until a parking space becomes available, maneuvering skillfully between other full shopping carts in the store, queuing more or less patiently at the cheese counter, the sausage counter and the checkout. Before Christmas and New Year's Eve, they literally pounce on the last slices of raclette cheese! 

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Supermarkets are usually already well prepared for the rush in-store. With the Peter Park system, the search for a parking space remains relaxed and there is a peaceful pre-Christmas atmosphere in the parking area, as the digital, barrier-free parking space management system ensures that the parking lot is unattractive for long-term parkers and there is no congestion at the entrance and exit. This means more free parking spaces are available for customers, and not just before public holidays! They can conveniently store their purchases in their car and enjoy shopping even in rain, ice and snow thanks to the short distances.

Why do customers like to buy a lot just before the holidays?

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There are a whole range of psychological and practical reasons why many people do a lot of shopping before the holidays:

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1. Make preparations for the public holiday: In Germany, many stores are closed on public holidays, so there is no opportunity to buy anything else if needed. Shoppers want to prepare for all eventualities so that they don't run out of food or other products they need during the holidays, which is why they buy supplies shortly before the holidays
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2. Ingredients for special dishes: On holidays such as Christmas, many people prepare festive meals that are traditionally eaten on these occasions. This often requires ingredients that are not always in stock. To ensure that they have everything they need for the preparation, they shop in advance and, if necessary, visit several stores.
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3. Fear of bottlenecks: The fact that many people flock to supermarkets at the same time before public holidays can give other customers the impression that a bottleneck could arise. If this is the case, they may be tempted to hoard and buy more, including products that they don't actually need.
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4. Special offers: Before public holidays, there are often special offers and discounts that attract many consumers. Many take the opportunity to stock up at a low price, especially for products with a longer shelf life.
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5. Holiday ritual: The anticipation of holidays often creates a special feeling - a moment of pause and preparation for social gatherings. Shopping before a holiday can have a psychological effect and be a kind of ritual to prepare and get in the mood for the festivities.

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All in all, various factors play a role in the decision to buy in bulk before the holidays.

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What preparations are retailers making to prepare for the "holiday shopping" phenomenon?

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The fact that more people shop more on days before public holidays is therefore no surprise for retailers. The phenomenon repeats itself regularly, which is why they know strategies to prepare for it and optimize logistics and customer experience: 

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1. Early procurement and storage of goods: Retailers predict the increased demand before public holidays and order more accordingly. This is particularly true for products that are in high demand on these occasions, such as meat for festive roasts, confectionery and baking ingredients, sparkling wine and wine. In order to store the additional orders, supermarkets sometimes even expand their storage capacity or set up pallet displays for items that are in particularly high demand.
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2. Extended opening hours and additional staff: In the week before public holidays, many supermarkets extend their opening hours where possible to give customers enough time to shop and at the same time cope with the increased rush. They hire additional staff or employ seasonal temporary staff to cope with the higher volume of customers. This also includes manning the checkouts to avoid long queues.
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3. Marketing campaigns and special offers: Supermarkets advertise special offers and discounts before public holidays. They intensify their marketing activities, for example through television and radio advertising, email newsletters, social media campaigns or even competitions and discount coupons.
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4. ‍Deliveryand "Click & Collect": Many supermarkets and retailers are increasingly turning to online shopping to meet the high demand. Models such as "Click & Collect", where customers can shop online and pick up their goods in store, have become established. Some retailers also offer delivery.
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5. ‍Ensuringfreshness and shelf life: Retailers make sure that they maximize the shelf life of products, especially for fresh foods that are in demand before the holidays (such as meat, fish, baked goods or fresh fruit and vegetables).
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6. ‍Specialservices for customers: For the holidays, many retailers offer additional services such as gift wrapping, personalized gift sets or ready-made gift ideas. They often add seasonal items such as Advent calendars, gift sets, festive decorations or themed products to their product range before the holidays to make shopping an experience for customers.
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7. Managing customer flow and avoiding bottlenecks: Supermarkets inform their customers in good time about possible supply bottlenecks or which products may sell out quickly. They adapt their store organization to improve customer flow. For example, they optimize the design of aisles and shelves so that customers can find the items they need quickly without getting lost in large crowds.

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Retailers in Germany are making extensive preparations to cope with the sharp increase in customer traffic and the specific needs of consumers ahead of public holidays. However, the customer experience starts before entering the store, in the parking lot, and ends there as well. Retailers can also ensure that customers enjoy their visit there, despite the busy period.

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What role does a sophisticated parking management system play in a successful holiday business?

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If a large purchase is due before the holidays, customers usually do it by car so that they can transport everything comfortably. The shopping experience doesn't start when they enter the supermarket, but as soon as they enter the parking lot. If customers don't find a free parking space or if there is even a traffic jam in the parking lot, they drive away without having achieved anything and may end up shopping at another supermarket. Good parking space organization can therefore pay off for retailers, especially during public holidays. To this end, many supermarkets introduce a maximum parking time and monitor this so that the parking area is not used by long-term parkers as free parking space for their vehicles, but the available parking spaces are exclusively available to customers. 

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A digital, barrier-free solution such as the Peter Park system is particularly suitable for this, as it is inexpensive to purchase and operate. Parkers do not need parking disks or tickets and there is no need to stop at the entrance and exit, as is the case with barrier-based systems. This makes the system particularly customer-friendly. 

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How the Peter Park system works

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The digital, barrier-free parking management system from Peter Park works without barriers and tickets, instead it automatically calculates the parking duration using data protection-compliant license plate recognition at the entrance and exit. Monitoring a maximum parking time therefore requires hardly any hardware on the surface, and no wear-prone components are used. The system is therefore particularly quick and easy to install and requires hardly any personnel. Customer service and the tracking of parking violations can be provided by the provider on request. In addition, a clear online dashboard is available to the parking lot operators, which provides information on the utilization of the parking space at certain times, for example. Supermarket operators can also use this dashboard to easily activate license plates that are allowed to remain in the parking lot beyond the maximum parking time, for example for employees or tradespeople.

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Edeka store in Leipzig relies on the Peter Park system

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The example of the Edeka store on Messe-Allee in Leipzig shows the positive impact the introduction of the Peter Park system can have. Until July 2021, people parked their cars overnight or permanently in the parking area of the Edeka store. To keep the parking spaces free for customers again, the supermarket set out to find a parking management solution.

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When deciding on a parking management solution, the focus was not only on customer friendliness but also on ensuring that it did not involve any additional work for employees. The choice therefore fell on the digital, barrier-free 

Parking system from Peter Park. At the entrance and exit of the Edeka parking lot, customers' license plates are now scanned in accordance with data protection regulations and deleted from the system when the maximum free parking time is reached. A contractual penalty is payable if the maximum parking time is exceeded.

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The new system reliably identifies parkers who exceed the maximum parking time. As a result, permanent, free parking of vehicles at the Edeka store is no longer possible and the parking area is no longer of interest to long-term and night-time parkers. The parking area is now available to customers again, which supports customer satisfaction - especially when many people want to shop at the same time before public holidays. Due to its successful use, the digital parking system is now also being used in other Edeka stores in Leipzig and Taucha.

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Relaxed parking for Christmas shopping with Peter Park

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People do a lot of shopping before the holidays. Retailers prepare for this with logistical measures and try to make the customer experience as positive as possible. With the tried-and-tested digital parking system from Peter Park, the customer experience begins in a relaxed and seamless way in the parking lot, as the barrier-free solution avoids tailbacks. By reliably monitoring the maximum parking time, parking spaces are kept free for customers so that they can always find a parking space for the duration of their shopping trip, even before public holidays.

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