Benefits of a queue management system in retail
Challenge
Physical retailers competing directly with online shops need to limit in-store friction points that can negatively impact conversion rates. Waiting in line, be it for checkout or a fitting room, can quickly move from a mere nuisance to a significant source of lost revenue.
Today, a more demanding, connected clientele has a low tolerance for long queues at different points in retail stores. When not adequately addressed, excessive wait times can:
- Negatively impact store reputation
- Harm employee well-being by creating stressful customer interactions
- Limit conversion rates and basket sizes
- Jeopardize brand loyalty
Solution
Ensuring customers aren't left waiting too long is, in most cases, an issue of proper staff allocation. And too often, retailers rely on gut feeling when scheduling and repositioning staff.
An automated data capture system can help managers better plan staff levels based on historical data and swiftly respond to spontaneous situations that risk becoming a drag on performance. Physical retailers want to track customer behavior at different points in the customer journeys with an automated solution that can accurately:
- Deliver real-time and historical data on store performance
- Identify problem situations before they become an "experience obstacle"
- Trigger alerts that managers can use to reposition staff members
- Serve as the basis for strategic decisions about store layout
Benefits
Many brick-and-mortar retailers are working to enhance the experiential aspect of in-store shopping, a strategy that can falter without optimal staff allocation. Using automated technology to eliminate wait times associated with friction points helps retailers:
- Increase customer retention rates
- Better manage human resource costs
- Deliver remarkable customer experiences, bolstering word-of-mouth reputation
- Improve sales-to-staff ratios
- Optimize staff-customer interaction times
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Customer counting for retail
Determine customer patterns and characteristics, such as group and individual flow, gender and view directions. Communicate waiting times to floor staff. Analyze real-time occupancy data for safety and security and exclude staff from customer counts.
