How to Effectively Manage In-Store Traffic?

Sometimes faced with large customer flows to manage and high volumes of receipts, in-store traffic can lead to a deterioration of the shopping experience for the customer and a loss of revenue for the retailer, if the situation has not been anticipated.

Indeed, long queues at the checkout can discourage some customers and force them to abandon their purchases, impacting the in-store shopping experience and customer satisfaction. This situation is even more pronounced during special events such as sales or the end-of-year holidays.

What impact can poor preparation for a high volume of customers have on the in-store experience?

MANAGING IN-STORE TRAFFIC: A MAJOR CHALLENGE

According to data published by Harris Interactive in 2017, 6 out of 10 French people said they were willing to wait up to 5 minutes in store, and up to 10 minutes for 34% of them. In addition, 76% of French people say they abandon their purchase because of a long queue.

The result is clear. The longer the waiting time at the checkout, the higher the risk of basket abandonment. As a result, the retailer loses a significant amount of sales and the customer's shopping experience is disappointing, and in most cases they have to abandon their purchase.

To overcome this problem of overcrowding and to optimize waiting time, some retailers have installed additional checkout lines but have to reduce their display space by limiting the choice of products, or equip themselves with additional Eftpos terminals which can be costly.

In order to reduce the waiting time at the checkout while keeping their marketing space, retailers must equip themselves with solutions adapted to the management of activity peaks. This is essential for any retailer who wants to provide an optimal end-to-end shopping experience, improve customer satisfaction and secure revenue.

HOW DOES SOFTPOS IMPROVE THE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE? 

According to a Havas Commerce study published in 2020, 80% of customers say they prefer to shop in stores that offer a personalized experience, where they can interact with salespeople and get more advice. According to Efficy, customers also expect a more optimal shopping experience with faster checkout.

A technology that responds to these challenges has recently appeared and is becoming more and more popular: SoftPOS, a technology that transforms a phone or a tablet into a contactless payment terminal that can be used on the go.

In terms of traffic problems, it meets many of the challenges put forward by retailers, such as optimizing waiting time and providing better customer support. This solution can be activated and deactivated at any time, and also has the advantage of being quickly integrated into software or devices used by retailers, such as cash register software, devices, or even inventory management software, for example. This solution is both economical and ecological because it avoids the purchase of additional hardware dedicated to payment.

To mitigate the risk of long waiting times, the solution allows merchants to easily increase their collection capacities during peak periods, and also encourages the use of contactless technology, which will greatly accelerate the payment time, and thus reduce queues by queue boosting.

With this solution, sales staff can accompany their customers from start to finish, from advice to purchase, without any break or checkout, by offering them a personalized experience. In addition, this payment solution reinforces the modern image of brands while offering an innovative and differentiating service.

Finally, the SoftPOS solution also allows to reimagine and redefine the sales space. Retailers can thus limit their cashiering space and allocate it to the display of articles, which represents an important advantage when one knows the price of the square meter, in particular in certain large cities.

Market Pay has developed a payment solution based on SoftPOS technology: PayWish®. Retailers can therefore improve their in-store experience, particularly in terms of waiting times, by using queue boosting to speed up checkouts, for example.

Would you like to know more about the solutions offered by Market Pay? Contact our sales team to discuss your project.