No-one likes to see a long queue, but for retailers, the problem goes much deeper. The longer customers have to wait to access your services, the more likely they are to walk out of your stores without making a purchase. It turns out, time really is money.
Why retailers need Queue Management Software
Given that long wait lines are the leading cause of poor experience, it follows that retailers need to use a Walk-in Management System to stop long queues from shortening their margins. Our research reveals that physical wait lines can reduce footfall by 10% and that 26% of walkouts discontinue a purchase.
Customers don’t have the same expectations they once did. Today’s consumer won’t accept anything other than perfection from retailers. If they have a poor store experience, 43% of customers complain to their friends and family, while 21% write a post on social media.
In 2017, Qudini estimated that long queues cost UK retailers a collective £3-4 billion on average annually. In our UK Business Case for Queuing Software Whitepaper, we also found that the typical 250-store British retailer with a monthly footfall of 2,000 customers and an average transaction value of £54 stands to lose an overwhelming £149 million a year in lost immediate and long-term revenues.
Retailers need a Queue Management Software to ensure they’re not deterring paying customers and to maximize their profitability. The software can also increase your drive brand awareness and loyalty across channels in an increasingly oversaturated retail environment.
“Qudini has enabled us to have a much more pleasant customer experience in the store and we can definitely see that we’ve had a percentage growth in terms of revenue. People are able to come in and complete their sight tests a bit quicker, which means that they are more likely to stay with us and buy glasses.”
– Store team, Specsavers
What does the customer journey look like without a Queue Management Software?
Customers will always want to spontaneously walk into your stores for service, but if you don’t have a robust way of managing them, customers will begin to walk out.
If you don’t, your customer’s store experiences may be dangerously similar to this scenario:
Walk-in customer Fiona joins a long wait line in your store. She didn’t expect the service to be so busy and she begins to feel anxious–will another customer try to cut in front of her? Unconsciously, she’s already making negative brand associations.
Fiona isn’t being provided with wait time information so she has no way of knowing how long left she has to wait. Consequently, she’s more likely to walk out–several people already have. If she decides to ask a store associate about the wait time, they’ll likely guess and Fiona will feel let down if her time in the queue overruns this estimate. All the while she’s waiting, completely in the dark, Fiona feels your brand doesn’t value her time as much as she does.
Window shoppers who may well have entered your store can see that there’s a long waiting line too. They think better of making a visit. Instead, they decide to go to a nearby competitor with a better organized shop floor.
Ultimately, it’s the customers who have a problem that will wait the longest for service in your stores. By comparison, new customers who actually intended to buy a product or service are less tolerant and more likely to walk out.
How does a queue management software improve the customer journey?
With Qudini’s Queue Management System, all of the customer pain points discussed in the scenario above disappear.
As soon as Fiona walks into the store, instead of seeing an off-putting long queue, she’s greeted by a friendly host with a tablet who can give her an accurate description of her wait time.
While she waits, she’s free to browse the store without any worries about being forgotten–she’s receiving live updates on her position in the queue the entire time. There are even TV displays around the store showing her name and position in the queue.
While she’s perusing the store, she decides to buy another product. If she was stuck in a physical wait line, she likely wouldn’t have made this unplanned purchase.
Suddenly, in what feels like no time at all, Fiona’s phone buzzes. She’s received a text telling her that it’s nearly her turn for service. She heads to the store host who guides her to an associate. Fiona’s impressed that she doesn’t have to explain why she’s visited the store to her advisor–they’ve already pulled up her CRM profile so they know why she’s visited the store and can deliver an exceptional, personalized service.
Fiona leaves the store with her purchases feeling like she really connected with her advisor. She makes plans to return again in a few weeks.
Customers can scan QR codes dotted around your retail stores to join a virtual queue for service.
“Without Qudini, I would feel a lot less in control than I do right now. With Qudini I know exactly what is going on in my store and it helps me lead my team a lot better. It gives me the time to be able to do that.”
– Store team, O2 (Telecoms retailer)
What are the proven benefits of Qudini’s Virtual Queue Software?
Qudini’s clients shared the following results of deploying our Queue Management Platform:
Sales
- Fewer walkouts: By better managing customer wait time expectations, our clients have reduced the walkout rate by 62%. In other words, they’re retaining more customers who intend to buy something.
- Higher average transaction value (ATV): Retailers typically experience a 33% ATV increase thanks to a better customer experience and service.
- More unplanned purchases: Because customers are free to wander around the store while they wait, unplanned purchases rise by 24%.
- Increased foot traffic: More customers enter the service for service now that queues aren’t visible.
Loyalty
- Better online presence: Customers use Twitter to share positive feedback rather than to complain. They’re also more likely to share their positive experience with their friends.
- More returning customers: Store teams consistently report a higher number of returning customers.
- Higher NPS: NPS scores at an all time high thanks to the improved waiting experience.
- Fewer complaints: Because customers feel our clients are valuing their time, they’re less likely to complain. This also improves store team morale and reduces the employee churn rate.
Productivity
- Faster service: Store associates can serve customers 27% faster because happy customers require shorter service.
- More productive team: Our queuing system reduces store team idle time by 13%.
- Lower operational costs: Clients save as much as $2 million annually by using our data insights to improve resource allocation. Equally, with our in-depth business intelligence tools, you can save up to $200,000 on annual mystery shopping and exit surveys.
- Deeper data insights: Use Qudini’s Queuing Software to capture data about why customers are visiting your store, what products they want and the outcome of their visit.
“If Qudini was taken away from the store, I am not exactly sure how we would cope. I wouldn’t even want to imagine life without Qudini.”
– Store team, Specsavers (optical retailer)
Do customers want virtual queuing tech in retail stores?
It’s overwhelmingly clear that customers do want retailers to deploy virtual queuing technology in brick-and-mortar stores to manage their wait.
In a recent Retail Choreography survey report, we asked 2,000 US consumers what they thought about retailers providing a host with a tablet at front of store to inform them about the wait time. We discovered that retailers can use a Queue Management Software to make customers:
- 47% more likely to visit the retailer
- 46% more likely to buy something in the store
- 46% more likely to buy something online
- 51% more likely to return to store again
- 48% more likely to tell their friends about the retailer
- 46% more likely to choose the retailer over their competitors
Read more about Qudini’s award-winning software solutions
Built specifically for enterprise retailers and banks, Qudini’s Retail Choreography suite includes market-leading customer experience solutions that enable brands to increase sales and loyalty across all their channels. Our solutions include:
- Virtual Queuing
- Appointment Scheduling
- Live Shop and Video Appointments
- Clienteling
- Click and Collect Check-in
- Event Management
- Task Management
- Employee Communications
- Shop Floor Break and Availability Management
Curious to find out which leading brands across the globe rely on Qudini? Check out our client case studies for retailers like Nike and Samsung.
