Retailers Losing Billions in Revenue Due to Long Lines

According to a new study released last week, 86% of U.S. consumers have left a store due to frustration from long wait lines in the last 12 months. With customers leaving empty handed, retailers have a problem and are losing an estimated $38 billion in potential sales.
Additionally, a recent report from Omico Group found that most Americans are willing to only wait up to eight minutes in line before abandoning their cart of potential purchases. The report also noted that 77% of consumers are less likely to shop at the retail store again if they experience a long wait in checkout lines.
Today’s tech-obsessed and savvy consumers want and expect an in-store retail experience to mirror the quick, easy and seamless online shopping experience.
“The lines between the physical and digital shopping worlds are dissolving,” said Roelant Prins, chief commercial officer at Adyen. “Retailers need to cater to shoppers by offering fast, easy and frictionless ways to pay so there are minimal lines and offer personalized recommendations and in-store deals. In other words, experience is key.”
Retailers are not going to generate more revenue unless they enhance their customer experience, and one of the new ways they can do so is by investing in technology that supports buy online pick-up in store (BOPIS) solutions. Consumers want the goods they order online to be available immediately, and the pick-up process to be quick and easy. This is where BOPIS retail lockers come into play.
BOPIS locker solutions offered by Parcel Pending enhance the customer experience by making it quick, easy and convenient for customers to retrieve their orders. Customers can be in and out of the store with their goods within just minutes compared to the outdated method of waiting 10-15 minutes for a store associate to locate and provide their order.
The way it works is simple. Once an online retail order is fulfilled – be it groceries, clothing, electronics, cosmetics and more – the items are placed into a Parcel Pending locker located at the retail store. Recipients are then instantly notified by text or email and provided with a unique numerical code. Customers can then quickly and easily pick up their order at their convenience by going to the retail store and simply scanning or entering their personal pick up code into the locker.
With the vast majority of consumers (80%) expecting to be able to pick up their items in under 10 minutes from the time they enter the store, it is now more imperative than ever for retailers to consider implementing BOPIL to improve the customer service experience.
Have your sales ever been impacted by long lines? Comment below.