Towson Town Center hopes to lure more shoppers this holiday season by rolling out new features that take the stress out of parking.

Most shoppers will say that one of the most annoying things about a trip to the mall is finding a parking spot.

"If I come in and the mall is busy, I won't even stop on the first three levels (of the parking garage)," said Dorothy Fraquelli, a shopper.

For the past 11 months, Towson Town Center has been installing Park Assist technology. Electronic signs show green when spaces are available, red when there are none and blue for handicapped availability. Signs also show how many spaces are available on each level of the parking garage.

Signage inside the mall has been increased, and each parking level is color-coded.

There's also more lighting and convex mirrors for increased safety in the parking garage stairwells.

"The goal is to create a great customer experience," said Lisa Bisenius, the mall's senior general manager. "Retail is a changing environment, and we want to eliminate any customer pain points that have been experienced in the past."

Bisenius said the Park Assist technology cuts down parking search time by 44 percent.

The National Retail Federation predicted that holiday sales will increase by 4 percent this year, but online shopping is growing in popularity and keeping shoppers away from brick-and-mortar stores.

So the mall hopes the new parking changes will keep shoppers coming in the door.

"We feel Park Assist is a game-changer," Bisenius said.

Towson Town Center hopes to have all the new signage up and running by Black Friday.