Parking charges led to sales boost - BurJuman chief

PARKING CHARGES: BurJuman, the only shopping mall in Dubai already charging for parking, says it saw an uplift in sales when they launched the initiative in 2008. (Getty Images)

The introduction of parking fees at BurJuman increased sales for retailers, the head of the Bur Dubai-based mall said on Wednesday, as more shopping centres mull charging shoppers ahead of the Dubai Metro’s launch.

The mall introduced parking fees on June 2 last year due to the vast number of office workers from Bur Dubai’s Bank Street that were using it.

Contrary to what some retailers may have feared, the move sparked a slight uptick in sales as housewives and other daytime shoppers had better access to parking.

“We ended up not having enough parking space for our shoppers during the daytime. If you came to the mall at 10:30 in the morning, the parking was full,” BurJuman’s managing director Eisa Adam said.

“I don’t blame them. It’s covered parking, it’s available and it’s very safe. The problem started when we started to receive complaints from some of the visitors and some of the retailers who said there was not enough parking in the mall during the daytime.”

The centre now charges visitors AED10 ($2.70) per hour for parking on weekdays between 6am and 6pm, but the fee is refunded if shoppers spend more than AED100.

There is no charge between midday and 2.30pm to ensure that lunch customers spending less than AED100 aren’t deterred from using its food court.

“Our basic reason is to make the parking available to our regular shoppers and any customer visiting a mall like BurJuman would absolutely spend a minimum of AED100,” Adam said.

Parking fees are not a major source of income for the mall since most visitors spend more than that amount, he added.
Shop owners can also request free parking for some of its best customers.

On Sunday, Arabian Business reported that a number of shopping malls in Dubai, including Mall of the Emirates and Ibn Battuta, are mulling parking fees to prevent commuters from leaving their cars at their metro stations.

Adam said he believes those shopping centres are now facing a problem similar to the one BurJuman has had on Bank Street, but that it could extend to evenings and weekends as well due to the large residential areas surrounding them.

“There are huge communities beside them. The introduction of the metro is going to make some of those people misuse the parking of the malls,” he said.

Sales at BurJuman continue to be down by an average of around 15-18 percent on the year due to the economic downturn that first hit the mall in October last year.

Print | Email | Discuss this article

| Share |

READERS' COMMENTS

Parking Fees@Burjuman
Posted by John on Thursday 23 July 2009 at 17:24 UAE time


Viola! The days of user fees have arrive; the free-rider's tenure is over. Unfortunately, it is the wrong time to ask for salary increase to fund shopping mall parking charges. The answer: the metro or the public bus to your neighbhood mall. Hopefully, if more people would use the public transport, Dubai will be a much better place for all...less traffic congestion, less pollution from cars etc

I agree with paid parking in Burjuman...to an extent
Posted by Scott, Dubai, UAE on Monday 6 July 2009 at 15:49 UAE time


I agree that paid parking had to be implemented in Burjuman, but I disagree with the times and prices. If you are in the mall for morethan 10minutes, you are charged for parking. This is ridiculous.

I went to buy a birthday card at Burjuman. Parked, bought my card and left in 35 minutes and was charged when I left AED 10!!! DIFC doesn't charge under 1 hour and this is just a scam for payments at such a short interval... I have NOT been to Burjuman since, that was 6 months ago. Before I would go for lunch to Carino's, Noodle House, Japengo, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Now I will not. I'll go to Oasis Centre, Dubai Marina Mall or Ibn Battuta Mall. I don't see how people can cheat the system at the 1 hour mark for free time, and it works pretty well in DIFC. Actually, I only have to buy a coffee at Caribou Coffee to get free parking in DIFC, then I can walk around and browse. AED 100 is too much for a single person to go and browse, and charging AED 10 for a 30 minute trip, when I spend AED 36 on a card is a complete rip-off.

Retail therapy, anyone?
Posted by Cash Flow Messiah on Thursday 2 July 2009 at 16:37 UAE time


If it was only for 'genuine shoppers' aka people who visit a mall with something specific to purchase in mind, then there wouldnt be the concept of the typical dubai malls. Ever wonder why malls host cinemas within? Its exposing shopping/shops/merchandise to potential buyers during times when they are not looking to buy anything specific. It helps to encourage higher footfall, regardless of a present intent to spend.

Agreed, Burjuman had no choice but to introduce the redeemable parking charge due to overcrowding of the parking lot by office-goers. But this concept cannot apply as a practical approach with an objective purely to boost sales; that simply doesnt make any sense. It it did then Dubai Mall should as well apply it. Besides, assuming that the Burjuman exec is being truthful about the increase in sales, it could well be on account of an other factor/s that they havent considered; it happens all the time. Just because 2 things (introducing the parking fee & boost in sales) occur at the same time (co-related) does not mean that one is causal of the other.

There goes your business
Posted by HS on Thursday 2 July 2009 at 14:06 UAE time


That does not make sense at all. I have to pay so you can allow me to buy???? Not that I ever go to Burjuman (since they do not have anything that isn't available anywhere else) but now I definitely will never consider going. Burjuman should feel privileged that it was chosen over Dubai Mall or MOE, and not make people pay for it. It is not like it is an extraordinary mall that is modern and away from traffic! Dubai mall, MOE, IBM and Festival City offer a much more welcoming and entertaining shopping experience.

View all comments (25) >>

Click here to post a comment

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Arabian Business would like to point out that only comments relevant to the story will be published. Any containing personal insults or inappropriate language will not be approved.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Enter the words above *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM