How important is accessibility to parking to small to medium business?
Poor parking can deter up to 40% of potential visitors. In car-dependent suburban Auckland, convenient parking is a top influence on SME performance.
Q.8.1 — SME Business
How important is accessibility to parking to small to medium business?
Parking accessibility plays a crucial role in the success of small to medium-sized businesses, particularly those that rely on customers arriving by car. Customers often decide whether to visit or return based on how easy it is to park, and poor accessibility leads to frustration, lost sales, and shifts to competitors.
Inadequate parking can deter up to 40 percent of potential visitors who simply choose another destination when parking proves too difficult. The financial impact is significant: failing to account for parking capacity can cost a typical restaurant at least $29,200 in annual revenue — around 40 percent of total earnings. In retail strips, the removal or shortage of nearby parking has been linked to sales losses ranging from 2 percent in moderate cases to as high as 37–38 percent during peak times.
Accessible parking for people with disabilities is not only a legal requirement but a smart business practice, serving the elderly, families with young children, and those with mobility needs. For most SMEs outside dense cores — especially in New Zealand's suburban and regional areas — convenient parking remains a make-or-break element for attracting drive-up customers and sustaining revenue.
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Written by Mark Pervan, Director, City Builders Association Limited
Mark Pervan is the founder and director of City Builders Association Limited, an Auckland civic think tank funded solely by membership. He has run manufacturing plants, with global sourcing and supply chain management in the same role, and has been project manager on multiple commercial and residential building projects. He was also responsible for product design and development across multiple mediums, and served as sales and marketing manager. He is a company director and business owner, including as a director of Idea Foundry. He served three years as an elected member of the Puketāpapa Local Board (2022–2025) and was a council candidate for the Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward of Auckland Council.
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