5 Reasons To Improve Your Retail Store’s Parking Lot

It will come as no surprise that retail store owners mainly concentrate on what happens inside their stores rather than anything outside. They’ll happily spend money upgrading the layout and design of their stores, but there’s little to no thought applied to their exteriors.

After all, their justification is that people spend money with them inside their stores, so that’s the area they need to make enticing to customers.

The thing is, parking lots are also important areas to consider when attracting new customers. If you’re a retail store owner, these five reasons explain why you should pay attention to your parking lot:

1. Accessibility

The first reason to give your parking lot more consideration relates to accessibility. Your customers want to access your retail store as easily and quickly as possible, and the most common way to do that is by parking their vehicles in your parking lot.

Invest in better ground signage (such as for disabled or EV drivers), parking lot striping (to clearly define each parking space), and access ramps for wheelchairs and mobility scooters to improve accessibility.

2. Safety

How well-lit is your parking lot when it gets dark? Will vehicles and pedestrians find it easy to navigate their way in your parking lot? You must offer a safe experience for your customers, and this should extend to your parking lot.

Ensure that you’ve got adequate illumination on your parking lot, and consider installing security cameras to assist law enforcement officials in case any crimes get committed. Signage will also help direct customers safely across your parking lot.

3. Security

Security cameras are essential for retail store parking lots, but they aren’t the only ways you can boost your parking lot’s security.

For example, you want to ensure that no unauthorized people use your parking lot – especially when your store is closed. Therefore, security measures such as fences, gates, and barriers help to keep your parking lot – and retail store – more secure.

4. Convenience

Few people want to walk for a long time before reaching a retail store – especially if that establishment isn’t nestled within a shopping mall.

With that in mind, you must consider ways of making your parking lot more convenient for your customers.

Examples include easy access from nearby roads, defining parking spaces for disabled customers by your store entrance, installing charging points for EVs, and painting lines to define pathways for pedestrians.

5. Competitive Advantage

Lastly, remember that your parking lot gives you a competitive advantage. How? The answer is simple: many customers prefer to drive to retail stores.

If your local competitors don’t have accessible and plentiful parking spaces, their customers will prefer shopping at your store instead.

This is especially true for disabled drivers and those with EVs that need a charging point for their vehicles while they shop.

Conclusion

Parking lots generally don’t need as much investment or upkeep as the inside of retail stores. They are essential for retail stores, and the above points explain why you must pay more consideration to yours.

The five reasons above state the importance of making your parking lot accessible, safe, secure, and convenient to your customers – and it’s not hard to implement any improvements.