Car parking charges in council-owned car parks will be discussed by cabinet members at their meeting this week.
A report on the implications of changing the charging regime will be presented to the councillors along with a number of options.
Newport City Council is looking for ways to assist retailers who have faced difficult trading conditions as elsewhere in the country.
One option the cabinet will consider is to provide two hours free parking in all council car parks, except those used for business parking.
However, the council would have to bear the brunt of a considerable loss of income.
Other options include introducing a nominal charge for the first two hours or asking the shops to make a financial contribution.
The report proposes that if members decide to make changes that a survey is carried out after three months to gauge how popular the scheme has been in attracting shoppers to the city as well as finding out why people do not shop in Newport.
Newport City Council manages eight of the 14 car parks in the city centre – 816 out of 2718 off-street public spaces on weekdays and 1178 out of 3080 on Saturdays.
