Local retailers are missing out on as much as $28.12 billion to major shopping centres and online retailers during the Christmas rush due to parking problems plaguing local municipalities, according to a new report.

Australians are expected to spend as much as $43 billion on Christmas shopping this year, but a study by CellOPark has identified excessive fines and inflated parking prices are the key reasons that 65.4 per cent are choosing not to shop local.

Michael Doherty, GM at CellOPark, said with more than a million small to medium businesses in Australia this is a worrying trend that councils need to reverse.

“Parking is a simple issue that can be modernised in a way to attract consumers back to the high street.

“Local councils are holding local shops back, and taking money out of the pockets of those people which support the community the most. There is a fairly simple solution to this problem and it’s clear that Australian’s are looking for a better option” Doherty said.

The survey found that more than 80 per cent of Australians wanted to see a revitalisation of Australia’s parking systems, a statistic that should be poignant within council discussions over the next six months as local councils look to save money in the face of declining federal and state funding.

“The tired old parking systems which are not only costing local businesses and motorist’s money, are also hurting the councils themselves, they are spending thousands of dollars a year on maintenance and upkeep of these legacy systems” said Doherty.

Aussie motorists agree, with 75 per cent believing smartphone technology would offer a more efficient, user friendly system for all.

Doherty believes there is real savings to be made for all parties in moving to smartphone technology.

Motorists are also disadvantaged through the old systems, overfeeding parking machines to a tune of $15 million per year, the survey has found.

Australians are paying a type of ‘parking insurance’ to protect themselves from receiving fines in what has been termed ‘parking fine paranoia’.

“We have modern, more efficient and cheaper way of dealing with growing parking demand. Our system removes the use of on street ticket machines and their associated upkeep which allows councils to better allocate their budgets,” said Doherty.

CellOPark supports tens of thousands of its members, who are already enjoying the benefits of Pay by App, Pay by Phone, and ePermit parking technology.