License Plate Recognition Technology Offers a Revolutionary Tool

by Tim Fitzpatrick, Mid-Atlantic Sales Manager / Howco, Inc.

License Plate Recognition (LPR) is one of the most transformative technologies to come to the car wash industry and certainly one of the most appealing aspects for wash club members. It is both a data collection and marketing tool as well a customer convenience offering. 

Wash Club Marketing 

LPR allows car wash operators to read, track, and process vehicle license plates with about 98% accuracy. Operators use the data to determine the frequency of visits by each customer to help target marketing of wash club memberships. For example, if you know that a customer is visiting your wash three times a month, you can identify them as a strong prospect for a club membership, which would save them money overall, further endearing them to your business and bringing them in more frequently. Industry research shows that club members get their cars washed an average of 3.5 times per month. 

Customer Convenience 

LPR also allows customers with wash club memberships to bypass pay stations and proceed through the wash more quickly. Contactless enrollment for new club members makes it easy to sign up and process the transaction at the pay station with no attendant required. It’s a non-invasive way of serving customers and tracking their use.  

Improvement over Radio Frequency ID 

LPR simplifies the duties and eliminates shortcomings associated with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system for logging and tracking vehicles. RFID requires obvious, sometimes invasive, and time-consuming use of a reading device for barcode stickers or club cards and the continuous use and replacement of those membership identifiers. Furthermore, not all vehicle windshields are conducive to holding RFID stickers, adding confusion, unusual or inconvenient sticker placement, and even program abuse by customers via the sharing of wash club stickers or cards. LPR eliminates all those idiosyncrasies. 

Tech Integration and Insights 

The high-definition cameras, automatic sensor systems, and imaging software used with LPR are tied to the wash club member database and point-of-sale system. The information captured by LPR as customer vehicles enter the wash process includes license plate number, make of vehicle, time and date of the customer’s visit, and wash option chosen. The system can even send a thank-you message.  

Additionally, technology is being developed to further mine the information collected to better market to non-wash club members and even determine if building another car wash in a specific geographic location would be beneficial based on the addresses of the license plate owners. That technology will also notify operators if the customer has a new car or if they are abusing the program by using a recognized license plate on an unrecognizable vehicle. 

Options and Investment 

There are multiple LPR systems available in the marketplace that are associated and/or compatible with pay station providers. There are also various options for LPR reader device placement, including ground-level or overhead truss mounts. 

The investment for LPR systems is in the $30,000 range depending on the options chosen and other factors. 

Contact Howco, your Plan, Develop, Operate® specialists, to learn more about this revolutionary component for the car wash industry and how it can transform your marketing and customer retention.