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Effects of COVID-19 on the Utilization of Supermarket Parking Lots
Home office, contact restrictions, closed shops – COVID-19 has brought public life to a halt. This can not only be seen through mobile data, but also through parking data. Smart City System analyzed the parking behavior of 226 supermarket parking lots equipped with individual parking space sensors at the onset of the corona virus. The parking lots in question are located in metropolitan regions throughout Germany which make up a representative cross-section.
The influence of the corona crisis on supermarket parking lots can be easily detected. It became clear in the first week the curfew was put in place: Here, the number of parking procedures dropped by 23.5% compared to the previous week. The decline in procedures was observed on all working days.
CEO Stefan Eckart explains: “Before the start of the curfew, our data showed a higher than normal parking lot utilization. During the week of March 9th (calendar week 11) supermarkets recorded the highest utilization of the year. That was two weeks before the lockdown.
The occupancy rate in these two weeks was 7.8% above the average on working days in January and February. This was most likely due to panic buying. In that week was also the last school day before schools were closed.
Thereafter, a large decline can be observed, starting with 8.2% in calendar week 12. With the enforcement of the curfew, the decrease in the aforementioned 23.5% reaches its negative peak.“
During the initial curfew (calendar weeks 13 to 15), parking procedures stagnate to a rather low level. It can be observed that during weekdays there are far fewer parking procedures. Although supermarkets are still open, people went shopping less – at least by car. “The data from Smart City System proves that parking data can also be used to track and analyze socially relevant events,” says Head of Business Development, Kwthaman Mahadevan.
If you would like to better understand how your parking lot is used or if you have any questions about our sensor system, you can contact us at any time. You can reach us at +491629747570 or via info@smart-city-system.com.