August 14, 2026
Samael1986/Depositphotos.com
As Shoppers Show Fear of Retail Parking Lots at Night, Is This a Fixable Problem?
When we discuss problems facing consumers, brands, and retailers today, safety concerns often take a backseat — and if they are discussed, online scams, skimmed credit cards, and in-store threats usually take precedence.
However, according to recent data from LiveView Technologies (LVT), nearly half of Americans (46%) — including a majority (52%) of women, and 41% of men — feel unsafe in large, open-air retail parking lots after dark.
“Men and women alike are concerned about their safety in parking lots, especially after dark, which could impact overall store foot traffic and sales,” said Matt Kelley, SVP of Business and Market Development at LVT.
Among the statistical findings produced by the LVT/Harris survey:
- Fear isn’t restricted to nighttime in retail parking lots: Even during the day, one-quarter of women (25%) and 17% of men indicated they felt unsafe in retail parking lots even during the day.
- Generations exhibited different degrees of anxiety: The results showed a bit of bookending here, with the number Gen Z respondents saying they felt unsafe while visiting retail parking lots after dark (49%) with baby boomers (53%) than the slightly lower numbers provided by millennials (40%) and members of Gen X (44%). Concerning daytime safety, perhaps surprisingly Gen Z exhibited the most anxiety over retail parking lots (30%), with all other age cohorts coming in at 19%.
- Feelings of being unsafe also show geographical difference: Residents of the Midwest exhibited the greatest uncertainty about being in a retail parking lot at night (52%), followed by the South (47%), Northeast (43%), and West (42%).
- Security cameras can help, at least to some degree: More than three-quarters of respondents (77%) indicated that they were “more likely to be mindful of their own actions and behave responsibly” if security cameras were notably present. However, a more critical view of this data might suggest it’s possible that those who might engage in theft or violence in retail parking lots after dark may not be adequately represented in polling.
Speaking of solutions, Kelley offered a few remarks on that subject:
“Retailers can better secure parking lots and increase the sense of safety by ensuring optimal lighting, establishing visibility with human guards or through video security solutions, and offering assistance to customers who may appreciate a store associate accompanying them to their vehicle. Proactive communication around a store’s safety efforts can help alleviate shopper fears around safety at all hours,” he said.
Other tips offered by Consumer Reports on the subject of staying safe in retailers’ parking lots included: being choosy about where you park, preferring populated and well-lit areas; removing items from view that could incite theft and locking your vehicle; being totally aware of your surroundings, and not keeping your attention on your smartphone while walking to and from your car; refraining from dallying and walking with purpose with your keys in hand; and to always assume you are being watched, with that same phone at the ready to dial 911 in case of emergency, among others.
BrainTrust
Georganne Bender
Principal, KIZER & BENDER Speaking
Mohamed Amer, PhD
Strategy Advisor, CEO & Co-Founder, BridgeCommAI
Mark Ryski
Founder, CEO & Author, HeadCount Corporation
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Do you believe retailers could (or should) be doing more to secure their parking lots after dark? What might these solutions look like?
How much responsibility for parking lot security after dark rests upon retailers versus local law enforcement. Could a better balance or co-operation be achieved?
Which retailers stand out as going above-and-beyond in regards to parking lot security? Conversely, which retailers are failing on this score?
Poll
If this is how people genuinely feel – and we’d need to explore the actual questions asked to assess how valid and representative the survey is – then it is an issue. There are many solutions from security patrols and guards to better lighting to more security camera monitoring. What gets deployed, however, really depends on the benefits relative to the costs. The harsh reality is that a store that gets incredibly low traffic late at night is unlikely to go all out with security measures. That said, retailers also need to take into account that the parking lot is part of the overall retail experience.
“If this is how people genuinely feel”
This would seem to be an excellent time for our observation that people often respond as they “ought ” to…particularly when the information comes from a company that sells security equipment!
It is an excellent time indeed!
I’m not convinced the data supports the conclusion that parking lot safety concerns reduce store traffic and sales. If shoppers feel unsafe after dark, they may simply shift their shopping to daylight hours. That’s traffic redistribution, not necessarily traffic loss. Before retailers start adding significant security expense, they should understand whether safety concerns are actually costing them visits or merely changing when those visits occur. Examining their store traffic trends would make this abundantly clear. Retailers should take reasonable steps to provide a safe environment, but the responsibility gets complicated when parking lots are controlled by landlords, mall operators or municipalities. And pushing the burden to already stretched local authorities likely won’t change the situation.
“Fixable” ? only to the extent that this is a legitimate fear…and I would argue it is not – at least not in general – so “no”.
(And of the various pseudo claims put forth here, I’m more concerned with the “afraid in daytime” one, since that eliminates the normal, obvious solution to the first concern.)
A friend of mine was followed out of a grocery store and approached by a woman who supposedly needed help, but it quickly became clear that the woman was eyeing her twin sons, who were sitting in the cart. Minutes later, two men joined the woman.
Fortunately, my friend had seen those gazillion social media posts about what to do in a situation like this, so she knew exactly what to do: get everyone into the car and call 911.
So, yeah. Parking lot safety these days is a legitimate fear.
Survey sponsorship aside, the parking lot is where the retail experience actually begins and ends. Most retailers treat it as a cost center managed by facilities teams, which is exactly why it stays chronically under-resourced. The liability dimension is real: duty of care extends across the entire property, and an assault in a parking lot creates legal exposure that good lighting and visible patrols cost far less to prevent than litigation. But the bigger miss is strategic. A shopper who feels unsafe leaving the store at night changes her behavior: fewer evening trips, shifted daylight visits, or to a competitor that feels safer. That is not a security problem; it is a conversion and retention problem. Retailers that reframe parking lot safety as a customer-experience investment will find the math looks very different.
I have no doubts that this is an issue. I do also believe that these numbers overinflate the level of concern and that even fewer will alter their shopping behaviors as a result. Retailers do have some control over this though and should treat the parking lot with the same level of care they would the actual store. Keep the parking lot clear of unwanted or unattended vehicles, remove other clutter, and make sure the lights are all working and bright in the lot. Heck, even a bright and inviting store exterior can minimize the potential for nefarious activity outside your front door.
Is there a fear of retail parking lots? Absolutely.
If you’re active on social media then you’ve probably seen the gazillion posts on Instagram and TikTok about parking lot safety. Some are from regular people; others are from security personnel. I know three women who have had scary interactions in store parking lots, and not just at night.
Sadly, stronger lighting in many parking lots isn’t just nice to have anymore. It’s necessary. A well-lit parking lot can make shoppers feel safer, more comfortable and more confident about where they shop. We all need to remember that the customer experience doesn’t start when shoppers walk through the door, it starts in the parking lot.
Is there a relationship between social media posts and fear? I’d like to see the actual trends of the crimes. While the comments for better security are obvious and one hopes retailers are doing what they can, is the hype and fear beyond reality?
From personal experience, there’s a major mall that has become known for its crime in the parking garage. The option is to park in the surface lots, which are not as convenient. The bottom line is this: Why would anyone want to go somewhere that’s not safe?
In general, if the mall can’t properly light and provide safety patrols, they will have to understand when store sales are down and tenants leave at the end of their lease.
This is more about common sense than retail expertise.
I’m convinced concrete garage park designers haven’t worked a day in retail, and have little information around what customers think or experience before, during, and after a shopping trip. At minimum the main must-have is ample lighting. But it also requires no dark corners, safe visibility from stairs/elevators to their parked car and creating a feeling in space that there is a quick way to escape danger. These things will singlehandedly change shopper behavior.
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If this is how people genuinely feel – and we’d need to explore the actual questions asked to assess how valid and representative the survey is – then it is an issue. There are many solutions from security patrols and guards to better lighting to more security camera monitoring. What gets deployed, however, really depends on the benefits relative to the costs. The harsh reality is that a store that gets incredibly low traffic late at night is unlikely to go all out with security measures. That said, retailers also need to take into account that the parking lot is part of the overall retail experience.
“If this is how people genuinely feel”
This would seem to be an excellent time for our observation that people often respond as they “ought ” to…particularly when the information comes from a company that sells security equipment!
It is an excellent time indeed!
I’m not convinced the data supports the conclusion that parking lot safety concerns reduce store traffic and sales. If shoppers feel unsafe after dark, they may simply shift their shopping to daylight hours. That’s traffic redistribution, not necessarily traffic loss. Before retailers start adding significant security expense, they should understand whether safety concerns are actually costing them visits or merely changing when those visits occur. Examining their store traffic trends would make this abundantly clear. Retailers should take reasonable steps to provide a safe environment, but the responsibility gets complicated when parking lots are controlled by landlords, mall operators or municipalities. And pushing the burden to already stretched local authorities likely won’t change the situation.
“Fixable” ? only to the extent that this is a legitimate fear…and I would argue it is not – at least not in general – so “no”.
(And of the various pseudo claims put forth here, I’m more concerned with the “afraid in daytime” one, since that eliminates the normal, obvious solution to the first concern.)
A friend of mine was followed out of a grocery store and approached by a woman who supposedly needed help, but it quickly became clear that the woman was eyeing her twin sons, who were sitting in the cart. Minutes later, two men joined the woman.
Fortunately, my friend had seen those gazillion social media posts about what to do in a situation like this, so she knew exactly what to do: get everyone into the car and call 911.
So, yeah. Parking lot safety these days is a legitimate fear.
Survey sponsorship aside, the parking lot is where the retail experience actually begins and ends. Most retailers treat it as a cost center managed by facilities teams, which is exactly why it stays chronically under-resourced. The liability dimension is real: duty of care extends across the entire property, and an assault in a parking lot creates legal exposure that good lighting and visible patrols cost far less to prevent than litigation. But the bigger miss is strategic. A shopper who feels unsafe leaving the store at night changes her behavior: fewer evening trips, shifted daylight visits, or to a competitor that feels safer. That is not a security problem; it is a conversion and retention problem. Retailers that reframe parking lot safety as a customer-experience investment will find the math looks very different.
I have no doubts that this is an issue. I do also believe that these numbers overinflate the level of concern and that even fewer will alter their shopping behaviors as a result. Retailers do have some control over this though and should treat the parking lot with the same level of care they would the actual store. Keep the parking lot clear of unwanted or unattended vehicles, remove other clutter, and make sure the lights are all working and bright in the lot. Heck, even a bright and inviting store exterior can minimize the potential for nefarious activity outside your front door.
Is there a fear of retail parking lots? Absolutely.
If you’re active on social media then you’ve probably seen the gazillion posts on Instagram and TikTok about parking lot safety. Some are from regular people; others are from security personnel. I know three women who have had scary interactions in store parking lots, and not just at night.
Sadly, stronger lighting in many parking lots isn’t just nice to have anymore. It’s necessary. A well-lit parking lot can make shoppers feel safer, more comfortable and more confident about where they shop. We all need to remember that the customer experience doesn’t start when shoppers walk through the door, it starts in the parking lot.
Is there a relationship between social media posts and fear? I’d like to see the actual trends of the crimes. While the comments for better security are obvious and one hopes retailers are doing what they can, is the hype and fear beyond reality?
From personal experience, there’s a major mall that has become known for its crime in the parking garage. The option is to park in the surface lots, which are not as convenient. The bottom line is this: Why would anyone want to go somewhere that’s not safe?
In general, if the mall can’t properly light and provide safety patrols, they will have to understand when store sales are down and tenants leave at the end of their lease.
This is more about common sense than retail expertise.
I’m convinced concrete garage park designers haven’t worked a day in retail, and have little information around what customers think or experience before, during, and after a shopping trip. At minimum the main must-have is ample lighting. But it also requires no dark corners, safe visibility from stairs/elevators to their parked car and creating a feeling in space that there is a quick way to escape danger. These things will singlehandedly change shopper behavior.