Relaxed shopping experience before holidays instead of park chaos

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As soon as one or more public holidays are pending, there is a virtual state of emergency in supermarkets. Although the stores are usually only closed for one or two days in a row, customers are all stocking up on a large selection of supplies at the same time: They circle around the parking area until a parking space becomes available, maneuver cleverly between other full shopping trolleys in the shop, stand more or less patiently at the cheese counter, at the sausage counter and at the cash register. Before Christmas and New Year's Eve, they're literally pouncing on the last slices of raclette cheese!

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Supermarkets are usually already well prepared for the onslaught in stores. With the Peter Park system, the search for parking spaces also remains relaxed and there is a peaceful atmosphere in the parking area before Christmas, because the digital, unlimited parking space management system ensures that the parking space becomes uninteresting for long-term parkers and that there is no traffic jam at the entrance and exit. As a result, customers have more free parking spaces available, not just before public holidays! They store their shopping comfortably in their car and enjoy shopping thanks to short distances, even in rain, ice and snow.

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

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A whole range of psychological and practical reasons lead to a particularly large number of people shopping before public holidays:

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1. Preparing for the holiday meeting: Many stores in Germany are closed on public holidays, so there is no way to buy anything more if needed. Shoppers want to prepare for all contingencies so as not to experience shortages of food or other required products during the holidays, so they buy supplies just before 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 available. To ensure that they have everything they need to prepare, they buy in advance and, if necessary, visit several stores.
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3. Feared bottlenecks: Because many people flock to supermarkets at the same time before public holidays, other customers may get the impression that a bottleneck could arise. If this is the case, they may be tempted to buy hamsters and buy more, including products that they do not currently need at all.
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4. special offers: Before holidays, there are often special offers and discounts that attract many consumers. Many use the opportunity to stock up cheaply, especially for products that have a longer shelf life.
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5. Holiday ritual: The anticipation of holidays often creates a special feeling of life — 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 for and get in the mood for the celebration.

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Overall, there are therefore various factors involved in the decision to make a bulk purchase before public holidays.

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

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It is therefore no surprise to retailers that more people shop more on days before holidays. The phenomenon is repeated 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 are predicting increased demand ahead of holidays and are ordering more accordingly. This applies in particular to products that are in particular demand on these occasions, such as meat for holiday roasts, sweets and baking ingredients, sparkling wine and wine. In order to store the additional orders, supermarkets are sometimes even expanding their storage capacities or setting up pallet displays for items that are particularly in demand.
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2. Extended opening hours and additional staff: In the week before public holidays, many supermarkets extend their opening hours, whenever possible, to give customers enough time to shop and at the same time to meet the increased demand. They hire additional staff or use seasonal temporary workers to meet the higher volume of customers. This includes staffing the cash registers to avoid long queues.
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3. Marketing campaigns and special offers: Before public holidays, supermarkets advertise special offers and discounts. They are intensifying their marketing activities, for example through television and radio advertising, e-mail newsletters, social media campaigns or even through competitions and discount coupons.
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4. ‍Delivery and “Click & Collect”: Many supermarkets and retailers are increasingly turning to online shopping to meet high demand. Models such as “Click & Collect”, which allow customers to shop online and pick up their goods in store, have become established. Some retailers also offer delivery.
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5. ‍Ensuring freshness and shelf life: Especially when it comes to fresh foods that are in demand before holidays (such as meat, fish, baked goods, or fresh fruit and vegetables), retailers ensure that they maximize the shelf life of the products.
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6. ‍Special services for customers: During the holidays, many retailers offer additional services such as gift wrapping, personalized gift sets or ready-made gift ideas. They often expand their product range before holidays to include seasonal items such as advent calendars, gift sets, holiday decorations or themed products 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 about which products could possibly sell out quickly. They are adapting their store organization to improve customer flow. For example, they optimize the design of corridors and shelves so that customers can quickly find the items they need without getting lost in large crowds of people.

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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 holidays. However, the customer experience starts before they enter the shop, in the parking lot and also ends there. Retailers there can also ensure that customers enjoy their visit despite busy times.

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

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When a large purchase is due before public holidays, customers usually do it by car so that everything can be transported comfortably. The shopping experience doesn't start when you enter the supermarket, but as soon as you enter the parking lot. If customers cannot find a free parking space or even form a traffic jam in the parking area, they drive away without having achieved anything and may shop at another supermarket. Good parking space organization can therefore be worthwhile for retailers, especially on public holidays. For this purpose, many supermarkets are introducing and monitoring a maximum parking period so that the parking area is not used by long-term parkers as a free parking space for their vehicles, but the available parking spaces are only 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 cost-effective to purchase and operate. Parking people do not need parking discs or tickets, and it is also not necessary to stop at the entrance and exit, as with barrier-based systems. This makes the system particularly customer-friendly.

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This is how the Peter Park system works

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Peter Park's digital, barrier-free parking management system works without barriers and tickets; instead, it automatically calculates parking time using privacy-compliant license plate recognition at entry and exit. Monitoring a maximum parking period therefore requires hardly any hardware on the surface; components susceptible to wear are not used. As a result, the system is particularly quick and easy to install and requires hardly any personnel costs. On request, the provider will provide customer service and tracking of parking violations. Parking lot operators also have a clear online dashboard, which, for example, provides information on parking space utilization at specific points in time. Using this dashboard, supermarket operators can also easily activate license plates that may remain in the parking lot beyond the maximum parking period, for example by employees or tradesmen.

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Edeka branch in Leipzig uses the Peter Park system

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

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When deciding on a parking space management solution, the focus was not only on customer friendliness, but also on the fact that it should not involve any additional effort for employees. That is why the choice fell on the digital, barrier-free

Peter Park parking system. At the entrance and exit of the Edeka car park, the customer's license plate is now scanned in accordance with data protection regulations and deleted from the system if the maximum free parking period is met. If the maximum parking period is exceeded, a contractual penalty is due.

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

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Relax while shopping for Christmas with Peter Park

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People buy a lot before public holidays. Retailers are preparing for this with logistical measures and trying to make the customer experience as positive as possible. With Peter Park's tried and tested digital parking system, the customer experience starts relaxed and seamless right at the parking lot, because the barrier-free solution avoids backlogs. 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 time of their shopping, even before public holidays.

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