Intro

On 7 May 2020, we sent out an email survey to our recent ParkEasy users and received 568 responses in return. Thank you so much for taking the time to help us answer this question on the minds of many:

What will shopping malls be like after MCO?

If you have not read it yet, please do check out the article done by The Edge. They had an exclusive interview with our CEO, Warren Chan to discuss the survey findings…... Read it? OK, here’s our summary on the findings together with a link at the end to receive the full report.

The survey was broken down into 3 parts:

Future Outlook - how will footfall be affected after MCO? how long will this last?
Strategies - what strategies will shoppers be using? what strategies should malls apply?
Valet after MCO - is ParkEasy still relevant in the new norm? is contactless valet important?

Part 1: Future Outlook

In short, the scenario is grim. 80% of respondents stated that will be visiting malls less. Furthermore, the much hoped post-MCO recovery looks a long way off. Only 6% of respondents stated that they will return to their pre-COVID behaviour once MCO is lifted.

Phase 1, Post-MCO : after there are 0 new cases for 1 month, a combined 46% (i+ii+iii) will return to pre-COVID behaviour.
Phase 2, Post-vaccine : when a vaccine is available 43% (iv+v) will return to pre-COVID behaviour.
Phase 3, Post-COVID : even in the long run, 11% (vi) of respondents state they will be forever changed

If you add Phase 2 and Phase 3 together, this means that 89% of users will have returned to pre-COVID behaviour only when mass vaccinations are administered globally. As per what most news reports currently suggest, this probably means 2021 or 2022.

This means that the new norm is here to stay… for a while.

Part 2: Strategies

So with all this doom and gloom, does it mean that there’s no hope? This is where our second part of the survey does shine a more hopeful light. Of the persons who stated that they will visit the mall less, 72% went on to state that their reason for doing so is because they were scared of being infected.

As you read this finding, you’re probably not surprised— at the time of this article we’ve all been cooped up in our houses for the last 70+ days and we’re itching for all the comforts that we’re used to. It’s not that we don’t want to go out, we just that we want to do it SAFELY.

This is where the responsibility to be safe falls both upon the malls and ourselves as shoppers.

Personal Safety Strategies

To be safe, respondents reported their safety strategies to us which could be grouped into 3 key sets:

Set 1. Personal Protection - face masks, sanitizers, social distancing
Set 2. Minimizing Exposure Risk - planning shopping lists, going to less crowded malls, etc.
Set 3. Behaviour Changes - avoid touching samples, sitting on toilets, etc.

While these strategies are personal, they also hint at actions that could be taken by malls to aid their shoppers to execute their personal strategies. For instance, malls can introduce tools that allow shoppers to better plan their trip to minimize exposure.

Mall Safety Strategies

When asked what strategies applied by the mall would be effective in attracting shoppers. Our respondents seemed to favour strategies that balanced safety and convenience.

For that reason, Regular Sterilization was ranked as the most effective strategy that could be applied by the mall. This makes sense, because sterilization is not only viewed as a means to kill the virus, it’s also something that does not involve any action on the shopper’s part. It is wholly the job of the mall to conduct this activity. It is not an inconvenience to the shopper.

In contrast, mall safety policies such as implementing a maximum shopper limit per shop necessitates long queues which are an inconvenient and hence are less preferred among other options.

What’s not surprising at all though is that respondents ranked Sales/Discounts as the LEAST effective means to attract shoppers to visit shopping malls. It is clear that shoppers are delivering a message to state that personal safety is most important. Discounts and sales are not worth the lives of shoppers and their loved ones.

Part 3: Valet after MCO

Jockey Parking is a service that many people enjoy as it eliminates the search for parking. But in this COVID-19 world, 88% of people said they were concerned about a jockey driving their car. When we filter the data only for respondents who are jockey parking customers, 41% said they would stop using jockey parking altogether. Whereas 48% stated they will use jockey parking less.

With such a huge impact to jockey parking, where does that put ParkEasy?

We asked our respondents what features of ParkEasy are important to them. As expected, the number one reason was that our parking is guaranteed. What was surprising though, was that the 2nd top rated feature was contactless valet. Well not intended by design, ParkEasy is a contactless service. While this fact was unimportant before COVID, after COVID this is the #2 top feature of ParkEasy, followed by other features such as trip planning and being able to park next to the supermarket entrance.

With less persons visiting the mall and an increased ease to find parking, we were concerned that the reasons to use ParkEasy would have deteriorated. However, the present crisis has in fact increased the value of ParkEasy in the new norm. 55% of respondents stated that they are now MORE likely to use ParkEasy when they visit a mall, while 41% said they are just as likely as before. Then, when asked to choose between jockey parking and ParkEasy, a resounding 99% stated that they would choose ParkEasy.

Conclusion

To Mall Management

The current conditions will likely improve only slightly after MCO. A full return to 2019 footfall figures will require a globally administered vaccine that will take a long while to come. But rest assured, it’s not that people don’t want to visit malls, it’s just that they are afraid to do so. Pay attention to the safety strategies that shoppers are asking for. Help them be safe, feel safe, and they will prefer shopping with you over other options.

To Shoppers

It seems that most are familiar with the first set of safety strategies - Personal Protection - mask, sanitizer, and social distancing. However, aside from this, you can also consider the next two sets of strategies - Minimizing Exposure Risk and Behaviour Changes. This means creating shopping lists, avoiding crowds, avoiding samples, etc. Take a look through the full list in our report and decide whether these strategies are effective to you.

To ParkEasy

Our takeaway is very uplifting. Our resolve to serve our customers is further strengthened by the findings of this survey. We are absolutely humbled especially by the fact that a majority of users now value ParkEasy’s service more during these tough times. By luck, we are blessed to be a contactless valet service and we will continue to do our best to ensure that we continue to enable our customers to execute their personal safety strategies to stay healthy and strong together.

Full Report

What’s reported here is only an extract. You may view the full report with more findings here. Please note that ParkEasy assumes no responsibility for any losses or damage direct or indirect that may arise from actions taken upon the information presented.

Contact Info

For Media/Press
If you are interested in more information on this survey findings, please contact our PR agency Suppagood PR at [email protected]

For Mall Management or Car Park Operators
If you are interested to learn more about how ParkEasy can implement contactless valet or make your existing jockey service contactless please contact us at:

Email: [email protected]
Office: + 6016-299 1468

Lottery Winners

Thank you again for taking the time to answer this survey. The 3 randomly selected lottery winners of 100 ParkEasy credits are:

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Survey Results: What will shopping malls be like after MCO?