On March 20th, 2012, CityMall launched its paid-parking policy.
While the CityMall Facebook fans retorted in protest on the Facebook status update, complaining about the financial changes, many were overheard roaring impatiently as they waited in line.Was it a sound decision?
Obviously there's the financial motive to start with. It costs to implement the system, but it certainly reduces the cost on parking lot employees on the long run, not to mention that it provides an additional revenue source for the mall; which until this, had a sole income type: rentals.
Well, not exactly "one" additional revenue source actually. They get two. Not only are the CityMall visitors paying an hourly rate, CityMall has made its parking tickets an advertising medium that starts at about 8,000$; not so bad, ey?
Nonetheless, this is not the only factor. CityMall has been suffering from a syndrome on the malls market in Lebanon, maybe because of its location, or the presence of a supermarket on its premises; most likely both factors played a role; but the end result is one.
CityMall has gained a big market share of medium to low income shoppers (a majority, but not to be generalized on all clients). Could the paid parking play a positive role on the long term in that regard?
For the moment, they sure managed to kick out 50% of their clients (personal and random estimation). If you have been to CityMall lately, you will instantly note the ease in which you are to find a parking spot; but mostly, you will be shocked at the sight of the half-empty parking lot.
Could they manage to gain a bigger market share of the middle to high-end customers on the long run?
3 comments:
What do you mean when you say "Could the paid parking play a positive role on the long term in that regard?" do you consider medium to low income shoppers a negative thing?
Personally, I think Citymall's new parking strategy has one purpose (and no pros): "tonsib." I will be boycotting Citymall and going to malls where I know I am not being explicitly robbed of my money. Destination: ABC Dbayeh and Achrafieh. Let the Citymall shops deal with it!
A visitor is always a good thing, no matter his income level. I should have elaborated my point.
Many high-income people avoid going to CityMall because of its reputation. That's why I assumed on the long run it can actually be beneficial (if it lasts that long - as you can see, many like Mayoushiz have demonstrated a strong reaction to the added fees.)
Just maybe, if the low-income went elsewhere, the shoppers with good purchasing power might decide to show-up. It's a radical strategy though.
Post a Comment