Abstract
BACKGROUND: The lockdown measures imposed in Germany starting in mid-March had a significant impact on public life. While the avoidance of social contacts was possible in many areas, the responsibility to provide themselves with food was placed in the hands of private households. OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether and to what extent the restrictions led to changes regarding visits to supermarkets using cars. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were available on the parking movements on 136 parking spaces of supermarkets in Germany between the beginning of February and the end of May. The analyses focused on changes in the total number of parking events per day and slot as well as their duration. RESULTS: Regarding the parking events, there was a clear reduction until the end of April, interrupted by an increase around Easter. After the introduction of mandatory masking, the values recovered to just below the level before lockdown. The duration changed relatively slightly. Initially it decreased, but later rose slightly above the level observed before the restrictions. Over the medium term, there was a slight reduction of parking events and an extension of their duration by a little more than 5%. Discussion Despite the explicit exclusion of food purchases from the lockdown measures, a dynamic adaptation behaviour of the population to the changing circumstances is also evident in this context. In terms of parking movements, a lasting effect on shopping behaviour seems unlikely.