Croydon’s Centrale centre undercuts neighbouring car parks. speaks to David Parham to find out more
Cash is king, or so the old adage goes. Equally, finding ways to remove as little cash as possible from the customer’s pocket, particularly during a recession, is likely to be well received. The Centrale centre in Croydon is hoping to entice customers with offers of the most competitively priced parking in Croydon’s town centre. Centre manager David Parham tells us more.
Shopping Centre (SC): Can you please outline your pricing strategy?
David Parham (DP): The car park is directly above the shopping centre and every customer who parks has to enter the centre’s malls. The Centrale car park is the newest in Croydon and is designated a shoppers’ car park with 92 per cent of our customers parking for up to four hours. We wanted to implement a simple and cost-effective tariff for our customers and for the first five hours prices increase in £1 increments, £1.00 for up to one hour, £2.00 for up to two hours etc.
SC: Is it true that you aim to undercut car parks in the local area?
DP: Yes – we have researched the cost of multi-storey parking in other areas of central Croydon and we offer the most competitive rates. Much of the on-street parking in the area is limited to a two-hour stay, so we like to think we are not only the cheapest, but the most convenient. Our strategy appears to be working as the number of cars parking at Centrale continues to grow, up three per cent in 2008 following a substantial increase in 2007.
SC: Does this help you to achieve higher footfall?
DP: Yes, our research shows that nearly half of all our customers travel to Croydon by car. Car borne shoppers will access our centre at the beginning and end of their shop – and most likely much of their ‘dwell’ time in between. By increasing dwell time, consumers will maximise their spending in our stores and are more likely to spend with us on larger purchases that they can put in their car. It’s just more convenient than public transport for a spending spree.
SC: What are the cost implications for Centrale?
DP: Maintaining the car park to a high standard is expensive but we can afford to do so as the revenue continues to increase as we attract more customers.
SC: How do you market your parking proposition?
DP: We promote the car park in the Centrale magazine; we distribute 450,000 copies of the magazine annually. The car park accessibility and rates are also available on our website and in our travel guides. The Centrale car park holds the Park Mark Safer Parking Award.
SC: What is your strategy on parking pricing going forward? As the recession deepens will you be tempted to increase prices?
DP: No, we will continue to market our car park as a modern, safe, spacious, good value for money facility, as we believe this drives footfall and therefore sales.
