The parking industry in South Africa has long been associated with frustration, inefficiency, and wasted time for both customers and operators.
However, rapid advancements in digital technology have presented an opportunity to transform the South African parking industry and elevate the overall customer experience across various domains, including shopping complexes, commercial real estate, and residential areas.
Influence on Retail Trends and Consumer Behavior
Research shows that consumers are more likely to go to a shopping centre or a store where they can park easily and exit just as easily. Increasingly, parking experiences are influencing retail trends and consumer behavior.
Cashless Transactions and Technological Solutions: Game-Changers
The adoption of technological solutions and the shift towards cashless transactions in South Africa have been game-changers in the parking industry and for the overall customer experience of retail, corporate, and other facilities. We have witnessed the industry introduce a number of changes propelled by the influence of technology and evolving patterns of mobility.
Transitioning to Smart Tech: Enhancing the Parking Landscape
Parking shifts: smart tech replaces manual, seamless, shopper-friendly transition from analog to digital without diversion. Consumers have access to real-time updates on parking availability. Mobile applications for streamlined parking management leverage data-driven analytics to optimize operational efficiencies and deliver the most convenient solutions to consumers.
The ability to understand customer needs across industry sectors has been crucial in driving some of the changes that we are observing in the parking industry. This has propelled the introduction of a range of payment options, value-added services, and technologies to enable convenience and enhance the customer parking experience across retail, corporate, and other facilities.
Embracing Cashless Solutions for Seamless Parking
The surge in demand for cashless solutions has prompted parking service providers like ourselves to embrace technologies to enhance parking access control and automate payment procedures.
Cutting-Edge Digital Technologies Shaping the Parking Industry
These are some of the cutting-edge digital technologies currently making waves in the parking industry:

“Tap and Go” Payment: This service allows users to use their contactless credit or debit cards to pay for their parking. Users simply tap their card on the entry panel of the car park and again on the exit panel.
Zapper Cashless Solution: Zapper is a fully automated solution for processing parking ticket payments. It provides an alternative pay point, offering a convenient parking management solution for consumers.
Contactless Payment with Snap Scan: The Snap Scan app provides an easy and convenient contactless parking payment solution. Users scan the ticket’s QR code on the phone, pay, skip the pay station, and exit directly after completing the payment.
KaChing App: Kaching is another cashless, ticketless, user-friendly parking app that uses license plate recognition to open a boom when a user arrives at a parking lot. Payment is linked to the user’s credit card or pre-paid account and directly linked to their license plate. KaChing makes your parking experience hassle-free and cost-effective.

Enhanced Customer Experiences in an Evolving Industry
No more queues; pay parking via mobile, inside vehicles—streamlined, hassle-free experience for customers. Tech enables enhanced customer experiences, essential for staying ahead amidst evolving demands and industry trends.
By Charmaine Zungu, Loss Control Director, Servest Parking at Servest facilities management company