The Science of Finding a Parking Space: Yes, There's an App for That

It's that time of year: holiday spirit, the end of year rush - and the battle to find parking that doesnt require an hour's walk in the cold and snow to get where you want to go.

Think of the hunt for convenient parking as an extremely efficient market. Demand always outweighs supply so the need rarely goes unfilled for long. That is why, in some countries, people can actually make a living finding and protecting parking places for those willing to pay.

As it turns out, there is science beneath the frustration. A bell-shaped curve based on the distance between two separate store or mall entrances can predict where the greatest - or least - availability may be. Retailers and mall owners, understanding shoppers' frustration and the concomitant loss of sales to the internet, are installing sensors and electronic signs that point to open spaces. There are issues: let's just say that the protocol of who got there first is still being worked out. The retailers are also creating apps that display open spaces - and remind you where you parked.

Alas, the problem may never successfully be addressed because perceptions of 'acceptable' parking spaces are based on emotion, energy level, number of screaming children in a car and other intangibles. One senses demand building for new behavioral and neuro-science research. JL

Kelli Grant reports in the Wall Street Journal:

Allison Tan never thought of herself as a stalker. Yet there she was on a recent Saturday, following a man to his car. Her goal: his prime parking spot. "He was really nice about it," says Ms. Tan, who was shopping with her boyfriend at Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J. "He waved me over. It was only through the goodness of his heart that we found a parking space."

Circling around a parking lot hunting for a space is one of life's most irritating experiences, especially this time of year. Truth is, though, there are usually available spots—most mall lots fill to just 30% to 35% of capacity, research shows. Shoppers in a rush just don't want to walk
"We rarely see mall parking lots that are full" except for the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, says Tom Diamond, president of Remote Sensing Metrics, a Chicago-based consulting firm that uses satellite imaging of parking lots to gauge retailer traffic. Lots fill up in an almost perfect bell-curved shape, with spaces at the front and directly opposite the entrance claimed first, Mr. Diamond says.

Not being able to find a close space can make for a bad shopping experience, retailers say. Things can get ugly on the few occasions when drivers engage in a turf war over a coveted spot. To keep potential shoppers from driving off, malls across the country are deploying technology to help shoppers find a desirable spot. Adding spaces wouldn't help since shoppers would still flock to the few closest to the mall doors.

At Garden State Plaza outside New York City, mall developer Westfield Group has a new system from engineering firm Park Assist that uses overhead sensors and cameras to identify open spots. Starting last week, drivers entering the mall's main parking garage could see on a large electronic sign how many spaces were open on each of the four levels, based on information relayed from sensors and cameras positioned throughout the garage. Using the same data, lights above each spot illuminated red or green to indicate whether a spot was occupied so drivers could see at a glance if there were any open spaces in a particular row. "It's designed to cut wait time in half," says Greg Udchitz, the mall's interim director of marketing. Before the system, mall feedback indicated visitors spend about 10 minutes looking for a space, he says.

Smartphone apps are the most widely used technology to navigate parking lots. Mall developer General Growth Properties updated its free Android and iPhone app in mid-October to include, among other features, a "Parking Information" tab that tells visitors to any of its 170 properties which lot and mall entrance are closest to their desired store. In Bloomington, Minn., Mall of America's new mobile site colors lots green, yellow or red based on the number of open spaces. (Solo visitors who can't surf while driving can check out new highway signs that use the same data to direct traffic to different mall entrances, says spokeswoman Bridget Jewell.)

Shoppers are too impatient even for valet parking. Last year, Westfield introduced a valet-parking system that presents customers with a key fob that can be pressed five minutes in advance of when they want their car pulled up, decreasing wait time in the garage. Now, Mr. Udchitz says, the San Francisco Centre and several of the company's other U.S. properties are testing a version that eliminates the key fob in favor of a text message.

Various other technologies help shoppers find their cars amid a sea of vehicles. Apps from Cafaro Co., Simon Property Group and Westfield let drivers set reminders about where they parked. "It uses GPS navigation to help you get back to where you parked," says Cafaro spokesman Joe Bell. Westfield's app for one of its Australian properties lets drivers enter their license-plate number and uses the parking-assistance cameras to locate their cars. Mr. Udchitz says the company is looking at ways to apply the technology in the U.S.

Of course, there's also a chance that the technological advances could backfire. Bud Kleppe, a real-estate agent in St. Paul, Minn., watches Mall of America's Twitter feed for parking updates. (The mall sends them out under the hash tag #moaparking.) "If I start seeing a bunch of tweets about 'this area is full' or 'that area is full,'" he says, "I'll wait, and go another day."

To keep people coming in, Mall of America's spokeswoman says a "12 days of parking" promotion offers its Twitter followers and Facebook fans the chance to win one of a dozen VIP spaces each day until Christmas Eve.