Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs “In some airports, they move the luggage carousels further from the aeroplanes because we don’t mind walking for longer; we just don’t like standing there waiting for the bags to come off,” he said.Monheit said shoppers’ confidence levels could be influenced by previous experiences of nabbing “the perfect park”.Behavioural science expert Dan Monheit said the most effective way to score a car park was to employ the wait-and-follow method.Credit: Luis Ascui“We can be irrationally encouraged by the memory of getting a really good spot in a previous visit, so we think the exact same thing will work again, even if it’s a completely different environment,” he said.Mardi Ashkine works at Melbourne’s Chadstone shopping centre – the largest indoor retail centre in Australia – which expects to welcome half a million last-minute shoppers in the week before Christmas.The centre has nearly 11,000 parking spaces, but Ashkine recommended planning ahead to avoid stress.Ashkine said that even though following someone and waiting for a parking space might be effective, she found the method could be uncomfortable.Chadstone expects to welcome half a million last-minute shoppers in the week before Christmas.Credit: Joe Armao“With any shopping centre, my preferred method is to head straight for the rooftop because that’s usually the last place to fill up,” she said. “I don’t mind walking … the time it takes to walk to the entrance [of the shop] is usually the time it takes to wait for a car park.”Monheit said it was important for last-minute shoppers to remain calm while searching for a parking spot, and encouraged the use of a “self-anchoring” technique.“When you anchor … you tell yourself that you’ll need to allocate at least 20 minutes to get a parking spot,” he said. “That way, if it takes 17 or 18 minutes to find a park, you still feel like you’ve won.“Another really useful tactic is to make a mental list of things you can do while waiting for a park … call your mum, listen to that podcast, do something you haven’t had time to do.”However, he said there was one way to eliminate car park stress, although it might be a bit late for his suggestion.“If you want to be organised for Christmas, you might want to try shopping online,” he said with a laugh. “There’s typically very little car park stress involved in that.”The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.
