Dive Brief:
- Customers are weary of lines, whether at the airport or their favorite retailer. Nearly a quarter of consumers report feeling frustrated while queuing, up from 1 in 10 in 2023, according to a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers released by Waitwhile earlier this month.
- Half of respondents cited retail as the type of business where they wait in line the most, according to the study. Pharmacies came in a distant second, cited by 13% of respondents.
- Lines can have a direct impact on sales, too. Three in five customers have left a line before it’s their turn, while 2 in 5 customers indicated that waiting in a physical line reduces their satisfaction with a business.
Dive Insight:
Managing lines can be particularly important during the holiday season. While customers may expect some kind of wait, they have higher customer service expectations this year and their tolerance on major shopping holidays is lower than in the past.
Regardless of whether they filled a shopping cart in the store or stopped by to pick up an online order, shoppers simply don’t want to wait in line, according to Grant Gustafson, head of retail and analytics at Sensormatic Solutions.
"One of the most important factors for shoppers this season is going to be an efficient checkout process,” Gustafson told CX Dive.
This behavior remains true throughout the year. Four in 5 customers say they’ll avoid a store at least a few times per year if they see or expect a line, according to Waitwhile’s survey. While 2 in 5 say they’ll return at a different time, holiday shoppers may not have that luxury.
Staffing is one of the most tried-and-true strategies managing line lengths. Retailers can adjust their schedules based not just on the busiest dates, but the busiest times as well.
Historically, the busiest shopping period on weekends is between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., according to Gustafson. This generally holds true on major shopping holidays.
Retailers can use their records to further refine the right number of associates to have at the register at any given time.
“Utilizing traffic data to ensure that your store is staffed during the appropriate time of day and then making sure that you have the right people allocated to help those shoppers is going to be really important,” Gustafson said.
