Located beside Hongqiao Road Metro Station in Shanghai's Changning District, IM Shanghai Changning International Plaza occupies one of the city's most valuable commercial locations, served by three metro lines and the Inner Zone. Despite offering more than 1,100 parking spaces, over half of them remained vacant for years, forcing the entire B2 parking level to be closed.

The mixed-use development spans nearly 260,000 m², featuring four Grade A office towers and eight commercial buildings. Although its location and facilities were outstanding, the property struggled to attract sufficient visitors. By 2023, occupancy had only reached around 80%, while annual parking revenue remained just over RMB 5 million, leaving significant parking assets underutilized.

Everything changed after partnering with JIESHUN in April 2024.

By the second year of cooperation, annual parking revenue had exceeded RMB 12 million—more than doubling previous performance.

How did a parking facility go from half empty to nearly full, transforming idle parking spaces into a powerful revenue engine?

The Challenge: Prime Location, Underperforming Parking Assets

Many shopping malls and mixed-use developments face the same question:

Why does a well-located property with excellent facilities still struggle to maximize parking revenue?

IM Shanghai Changning International experienced several common challenges faced by newly developed commercial projects.

1. Slow Commercial Growth

Completed around 2020, the project was heavily affected by the pandemic. Leasing progressed slowly, reaching approximately 80% occupancy only by 2023. Although more tenants gradually moved in, customer traffic remained limited, leaving hundreds of parking spaces unused.

2. Idle Parking Assets

Empty parking spaces generated no income while still requiring maintenance, equipment servicing, and staffing costs. An entire basement parking level remained closed because demand was too low.

3. High Customer Acquisition Costs

Attracting nearby drivers required either building an in-house marketing team or paying third-party agencies, both involving significant costs with uncertain results.

Like many commercial parking facilities, the parking garage focused solely on vehicle access management. Without digital operational tools, issues such as revenue leakage, inefficient reconciliation, and underutilized parking assets persisted. More importantly, the parking lot's potential as a valuable customer acquisition channel was never fully explored.

JIESHUN AI-Powered Parking Operations: Four Strategies That Revitalized Idle Parking Assets

After conducting on-site assessments and analyzing operational data, JIESHUN developed a comprehensive AI-powered parking operation strategy that required minimal upfront investment while delivering rapid and sustainable results.

1. Smart Parking Infrastructure with AI Cloud Operations

JIESHUN first upgraded the parking entrance and exit equipment and deployed its latest AI-powered Cloud Parking Management Service.

The solution delivers:

• 24/7 AI-assisted remote parking operations

• Unattended parking management that significantly reduces labor costs

• Integrated business and financial management with real-time operational dashboards

• AI-powered anti-tailgating and anti-revenue-loss mechanisms

According to Mr. Wang Zheng, Assistant General Manager of IM Shanghai Changning International:

"After partnering with JIESHUN, we've reduced labor costs, improved operational efficiency, and gained centralized visibility into parking operations that we simply didn't have before. The data has greatly improved our decision-making and management."

2. Shared Parking and Flexible Parking Plans

To improve parking utilization, JIESHUN's operations team identified nearby communities, office buildings, and organizations with long-term parking demand.

Online monthly, quarterly, and annual parking subscriptions were introduced, making parking services easier to purchase.

More importantly, JIESHUN implemented shared parking during off-peak hours.

Office workers primarily required parking during the day, while nearby residential communities needed parking at night. By introducing separate daytime and nighttime parking plans, the same parking spaces served multiple customer groups, dramatically increasing utilization.

One nearby hospital alone brought over 200 additional vehicles into the parking facility.

These visitors also became customers of the shopping mall, generating an estimated RMB 2–3 million in annual retail spending, creating value well beyond parking revenue.

3. Premium Reserved Parking with Smart Parking Locks

JIESHUN designated premium parking spaces near elevator lobbies as reserved spaces equipped with intelligent parking locks.

This guaranteed availability for long-term corporate tenants while creating an additional premium parking product.

Reliable parking availability also became an important value-added service that improved tenant satisfaction and retention.

4. EV Charging Services Drive Continuous Traffic Growth

To capitalize on the rapid growth of electric vehicles, JIESHUN introduced more than 30 EV charging spaces equipped with both JIESHUN and third-party charging stations.

Leveraging traffic from the JParking platform together with leading EV charging platforms, the project continuously attracted new drivers searching for charging services.

Dedicated charging memberships and preferential plans for ride-hailing and taxi fleets further increased utilization.

Monthly charging service revenue grew from approximately RMB 20,000 to RMB 50,000, representing a 2.5-fold increase.

Results: Doubled Parking Revenue and Expanded Commercial Value

The numbers speak for themselves. Before partnering with JIESHUN, annual parking revenue was approximately RMB 5 million.

After JIESHUN began operating the facility in April 2024:

• Year One: Revenue increased to approximately RMB 6.8 million

• Year Two: Revenue exceeded RMB 12 million

Parking revenue more than doubled.

However, the most significant achievement extended beyond parking itself.

The additional vehicles attracted from nearby hospitals and residential communities translated into millions of yuan in annual retail spending for the shopping mall. Stable parking demand generated consistent customer traffic, increasing footfall for retailers and strengthening the property's overall commercial performance.

As the client explained: "Parking income is not our primary source of revenue, but it has become an increasingly important contributor. More importantly, it has created new commercial opportunities and strengthened the entire retail ecosystem."

The transformation was remarkable. The B2 parking level, once closed due to insufficient demand, is now fully operational—and parking capacity has become increasingly scarce.

From Parking Facility to Revenue Growth Engine

The IM Shanghai Changning International project demonstrates that prime location alone does not guarantee parking profitability. Without professional operations, even premium parking assets can remain underutilized.

With the right digital strategy and experienced operational partner, however, parking can evolve from a supporting facility into a powerful driver of revenue growth, customer acquisition, and commercial value.

JIESHUN's AI-Powered Parking Operations Solution enables commercial properties to unlock the full potential of existing parking assets without major infrastructure investments or costly renovations.

By combining intelligent hardware, AI-powered operations, cloud management, and data-driven parking strategies, JIESHUN helps transform idle parking spaces into sustainable revenue streams while bringing more customers to surrounding businesses.

For shopping malls, mixed-use developments, office parks, and commercial property owners looking to maximize parking revenue and increase customer traffic, JIESHUN delivers a proven end-to-end digital parking operation solution that turns parking assets into long-term business value.