UPDATED: Why are parking lots only in the front of a store?

"31ModelA" (car) 02/11/2014 at 15:10 • Filed to: parking lot, brilliant, fixed it

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Here's a question for the day: why are parking lots only in the front of the store? We begin with a standard Wal-Mart parking lot:

A Wal-Mart parking lot is an especially tense exercise in chaos. People and cars meander about with little to no regard for direction, and no matter what time of day it is there is not a single space less than .3 miles away.

The story inside isn't much better. Even at 4:00 AM, there will be a line stretching from the lingerie section all the way to that creepy doll section where one can inexplicably buy disembodied doll heads.

So, what's the deal? (Not the part about the heads - that I can't explain.) What's the deal with the maelstrom that is getting from your car to the store to buy bulk mayonaise, and then back out to your car? I surmise that it lies with this sort of Maginot Line between the Lot and the Store.

You see, everyone has to funnel from the single lot, in through the same doors, back out through the same bank of registers, and then back to the minivan without getting run over by some other sap just trying to get his damn mayonaise! I think there's a solution. But first, let's look back at the store.

The parking lot takes up the majority of the land and on any busy day Wal-Mart looks like it's the beaches of Normandy, except, you know, being stormed by eager shoppers. Also like Normandy, the front is the only way to get in. And history has taught us that is not at all the easiest way to get in. Did we learn nothing from Normandy!?

Enter Circus de Wal-Mart!

(1) Pull some of that precious shopping space out into that beautiful swath of asphalt. Get the store out of its defensive stronghold. We want people to be able to get in, so quit making it so damn hard!

(2) Put entrances on more than just the front. Might as well just take a few of those upteen-dozen check out stands you already have and move them around.

And then....(3) PARK EVERYWHERE!!!!

Distance to the door? SLASHED, and limited to a reasonable distance without the loss of a single space.

Time to get in and out? SLASHED as shoppers only exit near the entrance where they are parked. Also, bonus for Wal-Mart (or Best Buy, or whoever needs your money today): greater ease getting shoppers in so you can begin prying pennies from their greedy little fingers.

Look, there's even room for that mysterious area called "The Back" where all the stuff can go and room on all sides of 'The Back" for trucks to dock.

So, tell me. Why don't big box stores do it this way? Security of the store may be an issue as there are more ways for evil bandits to escape with their pilfered wares, but it's not like store arrangement is going to necessarily convince someone to become a thief that wasn't going to thieve in the first place. Perhaps it would require more staffing to operate essentially multiple store fronts at the same time. I don't know. All I do know, is that this is brilliant.

That, and an oval around a Wal-Mart...just think of the possibilities!

UPDATE: In a matter of minutes, my dream of Parking In The Round has been crushed and I would now like to announce the sale of one 1:8 scale diorama of a Wal-Mart parking lot, gently used and stained with teardrops. $13,000 OBO. Pick-up only. Some disassembly required. Now if you'll excuse me, I must terminate my real-world experiment of this idea and get my car out of my neighbors back yard.

Rainbow > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 14:39

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Better yet, park under the store. Uses half the land, every space is protected from rain and sun, and the entrance can be a stairway from the middle of the lot to the middle of the store. A lot of department stores in big cities do this or something similar.

EL_ULY > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 14:39

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too many doors that way.

but more coned off street circuit possibilities

Brian Silvestro > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 14:40

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Maybe more of a rational solution would to have the store in the corner of the land, so that two sides are facing the parking lot.

Takuro Spirit > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 14:40

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Loading docks. Security of having one main entrance. An area for trash. Employee parking (don't want to get dinged by a shopper jonesing for an item that ends in .97 cents), etc.

Brewman15 > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 14:41

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Well, since you used Wal-Mart as an example the reasoning is very simple and can be traced to the Wal-Mart demographic.

Business in front. Party in the back.

DeltawingGothamDeserves > Rainbow 02/11/2014 at 14:42

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Or just leave the cars outside of the city, like some small swiss towns do. Trains are cool too.

Trainlopnik.

Moves-Like-Senna > Rainbow 02/11/2014 at 14:42

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The downside of that is cost. In cities, it's only done because there's no surrounding land.

Jagvar > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 14:42

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Honestly, I think most people would cause a jam fighting for space in front of the store, while almost nobody would go park in back. People are dumb like that.

There's a strip mall near me that has a giant lot in front, and a small lot in back. The front lot is always a zoo, and the back lot is virtually empty. So I always head straight to the back lot, and save a ton of time and sanity in the process.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 14:42

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You might like this article; look at the last picture

http://gizmodo.com/how-do-we-de-s…

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

RazoE > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 14:43

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Prevents shoplifters from escaping out the back door while accomplices create a distraction at the front.

Textured Soy Protein > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 14:43

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I know a lot of it has to do with stores wanting to manage how foot traffic flows through the store. Like for example at the grocery store, things people are most likely to buy like eggs, milk and bread are always toward the back of the store .

You go to the grocery store thinking "I'm going to buy eggs, milk and bread," but you have to walk past everything else first, and you start thinking "oh hey the wife said I was supposed to get some oranges," and then you pick up some other things, next thing you know instead of eggs, milk & bread you've got a cart full of $100 worth of groceries.

Or like Ikea purposefully makes their stores like a maze to make you spend the most possible time there buying a bunch of furniture you will then try to assemble and curse the very existence of while you try to figure out if peg A fits into board D.

Joe_Limon > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 14:43

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My guess is that would require at least one cashier per door even when walmart is the least busy and can get away with one or two checkouts. Also, more greeters, and more security.

Rainbow > Moves-Like-Senna 02/11/2014 at 14:44

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True, but it's still the best layout there is if you disregard the cost. Probably still comes out on top all things considered, actually.

ki-ki-ki-kia > Rainbow 02/11/2014 at 14:45

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I can attest to the success of this. Publix Supermarkets has two stores in my area that have the store on top of the parking. Great for when it is raining or super sunny.

DollaMoneyAve > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 14:45

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Maybe more entrances means they'd bring back the door greeters.

http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2012/…

Justino6969 > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 14:45

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I used to work at a Wal-Mart. The only problem I see with this is safety standards and time. In current walmarts, the back half of the store is all storage. Huge moving towers of storage and unloading docks galore. Looking towards the front of the store in your picture, say sporting goods on the right and clothing on the left. It all comes in on pallets, and is pulled into storage on the corresponding side of the store. With your setup, "the back" would contain all of the merchandise, and in order to take the new sporting goods equipment to the shelves, an employee would have to take the pallet through the store (safety hazzard, huge no-no unless it's necessary or after-hours) or carry items one by one to the shelves on the complete opposite side of the store (waste of time). With the current setup, the employee can wheel the pallet just inside the doors to the storage area and stage the shelves from there, rather than having to walk back and forth across the store for a handful of items at a time. Also, with entrances on front and back, they would have to have two sets of checkouts to avoid people purchasing and then walking back through the store to get to the exit and stuffing things in their bags along the way.

desertdog5051 > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 14:46

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The back is where you load and unload stock, The trash compactor is there. Storage containers are there. There is enough things going on at any time. They would not want more cars and confused people back there.

31ModelA > Jagvar 02/11/2014 at 14:46

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Ahh, but the front is everywhere! All fronts are the front! What is a front anymore?

31ModelA > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 14:47

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STOP KILLING MY IDEA WITH WELL-REASONED REBUTTALS! I just need to get my mayonnaise and GO HOME!

31ModelA > DollaMoneyAve 02/11/2014 at 14:49

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That's the spirit - now we're creating jobs too!

PICKLEBOY > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 14:49

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I've always thought the same thing, but the big issue is what you stated. Security. It would require more workers to run the same building and also one end of the stores registers may be crazy busy while the other end is slow, etc. but I'm sure there is a logistical way to sort it out

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 14:49

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Here's an overhead of a store by me who I think has it pretty well done.

As you can see you can park around 2 sides (And a tiny bit of side 3), though the main doors are along the top portion. Seems like the best set up you can hope for.

jariten1781 > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 14:51

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There are some stores like this. I never found them to be more or less convenient...just different.

One big problem though is that this really works only on a corner lot with two major cross streets. Most buildings are off just one major road so to create this you'd have to manage traffic getting around the store. There'd be all sorts of traffic bottle necks with that. You could put in signed roads...but that eats parking spots. Then there's controlling foot patterns in the building. additional security monitors, balancing the checkout manning, etc which would all be non-standard.

31ModelA > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 02/11/2014 at 14:51

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That's sort of what got me thinking about this. There's a building near where I live and all the stores are located on the bottom floor. You can enter through any one of them, but they each have entrances inside to the other connected stores. Makes it so easy to get in and out. Granted, they are very small stores - a bakery, a pharmacy and some other things, so security is not that big of an issue.

duurtlang > DeltawingGothamDeserves 02/11/2014 at 14:52

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I tend to go on foot when grocery shopping. For other items further away I use my bicycle. Many supermarkets closer to the center of town (here) don't even have a parking lot.

Jagvar > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 14:54

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I'd guess people would consider the lot that is adjacent to a major road "the front."

RacecaR > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 14:57

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It is because they can begin to corral you like sheep and cattle from the get go.

But seriously, the walmart's (referencing them since you did in your article) around here have parking on the front and sides.

PRBot II > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 14:57

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This is why I always park in the side lot.

thebigbossyboss > Textured Soy Protein 02/11/2014 at 15:01

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Although in Ikea's case this is true (the maze...I hate the maze...) for grocery stores this is untrue. The reason milk is in back of the store is because it's easiest to vent the exhaust ducts of the high powered coolers that cool the milk, and the fact they can stock it from the back.

Yes, you say, but what about things like frozen pizzas? Those are in coolers that aren't on the outside wall of a store, and they go in front load coolers. Or what about convenience coolers near the cash?

True, those coolers are different. Firstly, frozen pizzas, and convenience items like pop etc are bought a lot less often than milk in da big jugs. You are right to say that milk is one of the most popular (or highest velocity) items. Those other coolers are opened a lot less, and they need to be stocked less. Less cooling = less energy use. Less energy use = less exhaust gas. Less stocking = less opening = less cooling = less exhaust gas.

All credit for these thoughts go to Mike Munger, grocery economics expert at Duke University.

Here is an hour long lecture on the field by Mike.

http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2013/…

McMike > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 15:01

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Because of flow. If you put the store in the center of the parking lot, you would need to have doors on all sides, otherwise customers would have further to walk to get in/out.

Look at your typical big box store. They have the store room in the back, registers by the doors, and merchandise in between.

Storerooms usually aren't a climate controlled as the showroom, and they need direct access to the loading dock so they can't be in the center of the store, so that eliminates one side of the store for customer access.

You can't have that many exits without cashiers or staff near the doors. If you did, you would have to have more staff to cover it.

Stores don't want to have entrances on all sides.

ttyymmnn > Rainbow 02/11/2014 at 15:03

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Because construction costs would skyrocket. Those big box stores are usually built in an old cow pasture on a giant slab. No need to dig and make a substructure strong enough to support the entire building. And construction time is also considerably shorter.

Chase > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 15:08

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Nyeh :P

Walmart SuperCenter in Worcester. Technically the "front" is that corner thats been chopped off in the lower right. Garden center is the top end, but you can still check out of it with normal goods (if they've bothered to put a cashier there that day)

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=42.2333…

RacecaR > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 15:12

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I would now like to announce the sale of one 1:8 scale diorama of a Wal-Mart parking lot,

What is this, a parking lot for ANTS!!

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 15:15

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I think your average Walmart patron could use a little more exercise.

ttyymmnn > thebigbossyboss 02/11/2014 at 15:18

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Does he talk about why stores are always moving items around? Not so much in the grocery stores, but places like Cotco and Toys R Us are always moving shit around so you have to hunt for what you want and discover stuff you didn't think you needed. It drives me bonkers.

getchapopcorn > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 15:25

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In certain situation it can come down zoning frontage/sideage/set back requirements.

hike > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 15:28

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Some Target's have the entrances on the corners as to help customer flow, so instead of one huge lot, there are two smaller ones, but the customers still all come in at the same point. I don't know how to take an image from google maps, but one example is the Target near Timonium, MD if you want to take a look.

thebigbossyboss > ttyymmnn 02/11/2014 at 15:29

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It was a while ago I listened to this. I dont think they touch on other retail economics in this episode.

thebigbossyboss > PRBot II 02/11/2014 at 15:34

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I always park way in the back. Pisses my girlfriend right off lol.

GhostZ > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 15:37

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1. Zoning laws. Most regions are zoned by square measurements, and property taxes for parking lots are a lot lower than that for places of business. Additionally, parking lots aren't required to have working toilets, plumbing, etc.

2 Wal-Mart is viciously cheap and careful about when and where they build a store, so you can be sure that if the parking lot is in a certain place, it's because it would have cost them a lot more to put it anywhere else.

3. Inter-parking lot traffic. In some states, parking lots are exempt from city speed limits since they're on private business property. However, I'm fairly certain that it also makes businesses liable for improper safety enforcement, like failing to put up any stop signs.

Where I grew up, there was a strip mall with a whole parking lot surrounding it from every side. The lot was the worst thing to drive on in the city, because it was private property and the city/state couldn't enforce them to fill the potholes (or just ignored it?). I have to wonder what legality or zoning laws prompted that.

N/A POWAAAHH > hike 02/11/2014 at 15:41

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I think all Costcos and Sam's Clubs are like this

thebigbossyboss > ttyymmnn 02/11/2014 at 15:41

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Check this out...maybe they are just seeing if different product placement leads to better sales.

http://maysbusiness.tamu.edu/index.php/stor…

GuacamoleFire - JRCC > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 15:43

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Despite it being an interesting question, looking at Walmart's revenue, you are trying to solve a problem that is not there.

Now, on the technicalities, having a single point where people enter/exit, you can track people, reduce the chance of theft, put all your infrastructure in one single line and obviously, there's the fact that you can better arrange the distribution of the store based on that single point of entry, you turn your store into a maze where there's only one way and one way out.

And, to be honest, parking on a Walmart is not a problem, it's an inconvenience but I guess walking some yards isn't going to kill anybody.

Kailand09 > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 15:45

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Having worked in a store, my experience would say so that the back end is all storage. Otherwise no idea where you'd put it, and this way the delivery trucks etc can go in the back and people don't have to see that business going on.

gabdere > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 15:46

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its would just look some much better

The WB > Textured Soy Protein 02/11/2014 at 15:46

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That's not really true. Most grocery stores have those at the back because that means the refrigerators are closest to the trucks which arrive in the back to stay out of the way of customer traffic - not a big deal for frozen foods, but pretty important for milk and eggs which have a narrow temperature window.

The WB > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 15:50

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I've actually been to a Target with entrances on two sides. And it was the most confusing thing ever.

When you go to a super chain, you establish your entry point as your anchor - you know where you are supposed to go when you check out, and can usually make an efficient trip of the store, looping through the sections you need, and returning to leave. These stores have a LOT of foot traffic, and flow is more important than making people linger in the aisles.

Department stores get away with that because nobody goes to department stores, and they want you to sort through everything to find what you need. In Walmart, you know what you need. You will buy it regardless, and you just might pick up a candy bar on the way out. It's only a candy bar instead of a new $200 sweater, but because they're able to get 200 people through the Walmart, they made the same amount of money.

If you make people double back and get confused, you make the rythym harder, you have lines forming in aisles people are trying to get to, etc. On top of that, you have more entrances that shoplifters can enter and exit from.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 02/11/2014 at 15:51

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Unless you're a truck driver trying to pull in to the docks on the lower right. Then you absolutely hate this particular store.

J. Walter Weatherman > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 15:51

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Part of my job involves negotiating leases (on behalf of landlords), and I have asked them these very questions to numerous "big box" retailers. The answers I tend to get are:

(1) Security/cost of staffing. Loss prevention is a big deal for retailers, and it costs a lot to staff multiple doors. During peak hours and holidays, there may be a sufficient cost justification for exits on multiple sides, all fully staffed, but for the rest of the time, they just aren't doing enough business to justify that level of staffing. The problem is, they can't just unstaff an exit when things slow down, because half of their merchandise will immediately walk out the unstaffed door. They can't close those exits at low traffic times either, because you will wind up with confused (and therefore pissed off) customers that can't figure out what door to go to.

(2) Store layout. National retailers don't want to create a unique layout for each store. They invest a lot of time and money in coming up with a prototypical layout (that typically involves them forcing you to walk past the things that the store wants you to buy before you reach what YOU want to buy), and do everything they can to make all new stores they build fit that layout. Not every site they want to build on will be able to accommodate a store with exits on all sides, so it is easier for them to plan for the most common shopping center design, which is a store with one entrance/exit in the front and a large parking field right in front of that.

I have no idea whether or not these are the real reasons, but they are the reasons that I hear retailers pissing and moaning about every time we try to convince them to have multiple entrances/exits.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 02/11/2014 at 15:52

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And that's one of 23 reasons I'm not a truck driver.

dinobot666 > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 15:54

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The answer is actually Amazon prime and never having to leave the house. I order everything from handsoap to toothbrushes off of prime. You can literally get everything you'd ever need shipped right to your door.

I only venture out for perishable items and beer. Screw messing around with parking lots.

J. Walter Weatherman > Jagvar 02/11/2014 at 15:56

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Yeah, I have heard this from retailers before. Most customers want to park within view of the front door, for whatever reason. Side lots often go unused, even if they are the closest parking to the front door, simply because they aren't within the line of sight to the door. That's why side lots typically become defacto employee parking lots.

efme > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 16:03

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halve your walking time, but double/triple your parking time?

OneHeadLight > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 16:04

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Security & loss prevention issues. You have to monitor all exits, hence more personnel, cameras, etc. I know 20 hr a week, $12/hr doesn't seem like much, but we all know Walmart's reputation. Your proposed layout would make tractor trailer deliveries more difficult too.

And while I'm at it: Is it fair that taxpayers foot the bill for those Walmart employees living below the poverty level, collecting food stamps and housing subsidies? If someone holds down a job, they should be paid a livable wage. Take it out of that $11B profit, guys.

hike > N/A POWAAAHH 02/11/2014 at 16:06

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I've never been to Costco, nor have I seen a Sam's like that, but most likely, it's just how the land the store was situated on worked out.

Saf1 > Brewman15 02/11/2014 at 16:27

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Wellplayed

Saf1 > Textured Soy Protein 02/11/2014 at 16:30

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Supermarkets have all these little tricks which are quite interesting. One is, by putting bouquets and other attractive fast-perishing items towards the front, subconsciously you are inclined to think of the usually adjacent fruits & veg section as more fresh and appealing!

webmonkees > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 17:18

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Avoid the front by parking at the auto service segment. They have a side entrance and a register.. But do NOT go buying a dozen things at the auto counter, unless it's car-related.

desertdog5051 > J. Walter Weatherman 02/11/2014 at 17:33

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That makes sense. My local WalMart has 2 dedicated parking spots next to the main entrance exclusively for police cars. They must spend a ton of money on security.

One of the most stolen products is alcohol. Right next door is a Walgreens. Their policy is to never try to stop a shoplifter. Let them leave and do not follow them. But, nobody ever said WalMartians are the brightest.

vdub_nut: scooter snob > Textured Soy Protein 02/11/2014 at 17:46

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Holy shit, I just realized that in every store I go to, the vegetables and other healthy stuff is RIGHT at THE FRONT.

Murka.

HiredHand > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 18:25

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Anybody on Oppo should know you park in the way back, in a well-lit area, with nobody around for two rows. Because door dings and parking lot hit and runs suck.

Nuggolips > 31ModelA 02/11/2014 at 18:32

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Actually, all the Walmarts around here have a garden center entrance to one side and a automotive entrance on the other. Parking at the automotive entrance is usually a good way to get in and out quick when you only need a couple of things. Just don't bring a whole cart of groceries to the Auto counter and expect them to be happy to ring you up.

Nuggolips > Nuggolips 02/11/2014 at 18:38

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Don't ask me why, but there are 3 Walmarts within 15 minutes of where i live. Anyway, here is a view of the one I typically patronize. As you can see, automotive is a ghost town and you will usually be the only person checking out there.

willconltd > thebigbossyboss 02/12/2014 at 09:46

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I think you are thinking of this as way too simplistic. Broadware, that amazing software that runs Walmart's planograms and layouts specifies where on the aisle to put everything down to the inch. That means the fast movers are usually at eye level, and then spread out from there. The planograms map out how high, and where on the aisle each product goes. Its all done by computer based on what they want to move, and what has moved in the past during that week of the year. They make 1% on groceries, so turnover is the most important thing. I used to work on grocery store software, and it gets even more complicated. You scan an item at checkout, the system automatically re-orders that product based on sales history. There are various other software companies that do the same basic software. The location of milk is determined by how fast it moves. If they stand to make an additional $200 a month on milk by moving it 15 feet, THEY WILL MOVE IT . That's why every grocery store is laid out differently, even when its the same chain. Frustrating to us customers, right? The only time they don't setup their own shelves is when vendors do it for them. That's usually very inefficient, but the vendors PAY for that shelf space so it evens out even though it moves less product. Vendors want to highlight new products or whatever, so they rent 8' of aisle and set it up however they want. So while it may seem smart to build a store one way or another, the reality is that it is laid out to maximize turnover down to the individual aggregate products. We regularly would go in with a new software install to smaller chains and have to physically move the aisles to get the efficiency we needed. Its all based off sales data from the registers. Walmart does that best, and that's why they are the #1 retailer.

Ryan A. > Chase 02/13/2014 at 22:38

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The last time I was at that WalMart the woman checking out in front of me was clearly a meth addict. The one that is in or near West Boylston is less scary.

V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! > 31ModelA 02/14/2014 at 00:08

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Where is the front? Away from the loading dock. People will be leary of parking near there.