Omnico study finds that 5 minutes 54 seconds is the average queue time tolerated by shoppers before they ‘abandon basket’

Queue-busting mobile point of sale technologies can alleviate problem, says Omnico

01 August 2013 – On average Brits will wait just under six minutes in a shop queue before they walk out. That’s according to a survey conducted by global retail technology provider, Omnico, as part of an investigation into the effect of queues on retailers’ businesses. The survey also found that over half (56%) of Britons would be less likely to return to a store if they’d had a bad queuing experience, with men more likely than women to hold a bad queuing experience against a store (58% versus 55% respectively).

These results come from research of 1,344 UK consumers to find out how patient people in Britain are when it comes to queuing in store. The average time across the UK for shoppers to wait in a queue until they ‘abandon basket’ is 5 minutes 54 seconds.

Amongst major towns and cities in the UK, the least patient is Plymouth, with locals only willing to wait an average of 4 minutes 55 seconds before leaving the store. Liverpool is the most patient city in the UK with shoppers willing to wait 6 minutes 47 seconds. Londoners are the fourth most impatient, only willing to wait 5 minutes 44 seconds.

Only 19% of people said that they would never abandon their basket regardless of how long they’d been waiting in a queue. On the flip side, 16% refuse to wait more than three minutes before walking out.

On average younger people queue for longer periods of time than older people, with shoppers aged 16-24 willing to wait for up to 6 minutes 9 seconds, whilst shoppers aged 55+ are only prepared to wait for 5 minutes 46 seconds. However, despite the younger generation being more willing to wait longer, they are the most likely group to be badly affected by a queuing experience with 59% saying they wouldn’t return to a store as a result.

Commenting on the research, Mark Rackley, Chartered Psychologist  commented: “These  findings from Omnico reflect a concept known as Heuristics, which is decision making based on past experience. When it comes to queuing, people use previous experiences to decide whether they will stay in the queue or leave it. In today's society when people can buy things within a matter of a few clicks or swipes, without having to wait, they may use a Heuristic and conclude that queuing is inconvenient and thus choose to walk-away. Based on this behaviour and as people increasingly experience instantaneous payment, queuing tolerance levels are likely to continue to decrease.”

“Queuing is a pet hate of many people in the UK and our research revealed the detrimental impact it has on retailers, both in terms of abandoned baskets and long term loyalty,” said Bill Henry, CEO at Omnico. “Retailers who focus on preventing  abandoned baskets and customer walk-aways will see the compelling benefits to their bottom line.”

“Mobile point of sale (PoS) technology is an answer to this problem, as it can be deployed quickly and has a positive impact on retailers’ shop floor estate, offering space saving opportunity as well as reduced capital expenditure. It frees sales assistants up to move around the store and answer questions or move to areas that are busiest.”

Omnico delivers queue-busting mobile PoS technology with leading retailers, such as Paperchase. The stationary retailer deploys mobile tills which allow staff to reduce queue lengths and duration, ensuring that time-poor customers get enough time to browse and complete their purchases.

Paperchase has a broad range of customer store types across their portfolios that manage differing footfalls. These range from large flagship stores to smaller outlets in busy train stations. Operating in multiple locations means that Paperchase stores are dealing with a range of different shoppers with varying attitudes on queuing. With the deployment of mobile tills on the shop floor, these mobile sales staff can effectively bust queues during busy periods in the trading cycle, improving shopper satisfaction.

Below is the full list of the top 20 UK cities and the average times that locals are willing to queue for before leaving the store - See table at http://www.realwire.com/releases/Gone-in-6-minutes-average-queuing-time-UK-shoppers-are-willing-to-wait

To find out more, please visit the Omnico website to read the full report - http://www.omnicogroup.com/retail-landing.