JVH, our Scrooge-like publisher, apparently hates Christmas. Well, that's an exaggeration, but he definitely does not support the concept of offering free parking during the Christmas season. See his blog from November 17.
JVH does not like it when anyone gets special treatment or favors, like free parking. Contrary to JVH's blog, however, I would suggest there are some good reasons for offering free parking during the holidays, in shopping areas, and in fact it may be required of some shopping districts. And this is not about giving anyone special treatment.
Competition for holiday shoppers is very aggressive, especially in a down economy. It makes total sense to me that a town, shopping district or mall would offer free parking as an incentive to undercut the competition – not an incentive to get people to shop, but to get them to shop there instead of somewhere else. Town councils are trying to give their local retailers an edge. And if one town or district does it, that means that others have to do it as well, if they want to stay competitive. Some shopping districts may also need to offer free parking to compete with nearby malls offering huge free car parks. This is not a Christmas gift to the public but rather an economic decision - even if some towns promote it as a gift.
In addition, many towns see the free parking promotion as a great opportunity to publicize their business district, and encourage residents to shop locally. It's a marketing strategy.
But I have seen other good reasons for offering free parking during the holiday season. For example, the Salisbury City Council in the UK is offering free parking at park-and-ride sites on Saturdays leading up to Christmas. One of the reasons behind this is to get some publicity for the city's 5 park-and-ride sites.
Another free parking holiday promotion I have noticed in the UK is free parking on weekdays, like Wednesdays and Thursdays, to encourage people to shop during the week, and ease the rush on the weekends. Similarly, some towns are offering free parking in November, to encourage shoppers to beat the Christmas rush. These all sound like logical promotions to me.
Pete Goldin
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