Carpark booking service pivots to contribute socially during COVID-19

During the coronavirus pandemic, it has been vital to minimize human contact, so grocery shopping can be stressful as you often can’t avoid crowds. Online parking reservation company Akippa is striving to provide a quick and coordinated shopping experience. This company and its eponymous app have been drawing attention as an emerging business model in the sharing economy. It launched a system which allows users to search and rent open parking spaces from businesses and even individuals remotely on the go.

The company launched a new collaborative project with farmer search app Yacyber in April, which allows farmers to use parking spots rented through Akippa to sell their produce. Customers on Yacyber can then find nearby vegetable stands on the premises provided by Akippa’s parking space owners. Simultaneously, you can order and pay for your vegetables through the app and select the date time to pick up the groceries in person. You can also buy vegetables at the stands by making payments via QR codes. Since the whole transaction is done using your smartphone, there isn’t the need for shop attendants at the stands. This system successfully enables quick and crowd-free grocery shopping.

Akippa explains that because these parking spaces are mostly outdoors, you can easily practice social distancing in the open-air environment. Furthermore, the company hopes that this collaboration will help farmers to reach a wider range of customers while also preventing food waste.

Following this innovative project, Akippa announced another collaboration, this time with take-away-only bento stalls. In contrast to the Yacyber collaboration, available in Tokyo, Osaka and Hyogo, this project was limited to one parking lot in Osaka, from May 19 to 29. Still, Akippa users benefited from freshly prepared lunches even when they were busy balancing remote work and house chores. Previously, owners were predominately only allowed to rent their spaces for parking use on Akippa. However, the company made the adjustment to their service in response to a decrease in demand during the global pandemic.

Businesses across many industries have been experiencing the negative impacts of COVID-19, and Akippa was no exception to this. Nevertheless, the company is making efforts to reshape its business model and align with emerging demand in a creative way. The company says it’s preparing to expand the scope of its collaborations in the future, which demonstrates its purpose-driven strategy during this difficult time.