Maritz Poll: Are Checkout Lines Affecting Retailers' Bottom Lines?

Maritz^® Poll reveals retail categories most affected by long wait times and poor customer service

Jennifer Larsen, Maritz, 636-827-1529, jennifer.larsen@maritz.com

St. Louis (July 15, 2008) – Have you ever become so frustrated waiting in line at a retailer that you’ve walked out? You aren’t alone according to a recent Maritz^® Poll that reveals customer expectations and attitudes regarding wait times for several retail categories.

According to the poll, the following percentages of customers walked out of the store due to long wait times:

Does this really matter to business?
Since customer experience affects buying behavior, there’s a strong relationship among frustration during exceptionally long wait times, a history of leaving due to long wait times and the likelihood that the customer will not return to the store – implying that businesses that exceed anticipated wait times should expect to lose customers.

“Specialty clothing stores and department stores have significantly more to lose than most categories if they keep customers waiting longer than expected,” said Tom Krause, director of strategic consulting, for Maritz Research’s Retail Group. “Typically these stores are in malls or shopping centers where competitors are plentiful. Plus, among customers who have left due to long wait time, 25 percent say they have not been back to a particular specialty clothing store and 13 percent have not been back to a particular department store. At a time when retailers are struggling, losing customers can sting.”

In addition, while customers may not complain, they will certainly share their experiences with others. Approximately 32 percent of respondents across all categories told others about a poor experience, while 15 percent complained to a manager or another employee, and 6 percent contacted the corporate office or customer service.

One expectation does not fit all
Attitudes vary widely across categories when it comes to frustration with wait times. Respondents indicated that they expect to wait an average of 8.6 minutes at a drugstore, significantly more time than other categories. Mail/shipping service stores averaged 7.5 minutes, while department stores averaged 6.2 minutes, specialty clothing stores averaged 5.7 minutes and convenience stores averaged 3.3 minutes.

Drugstores score relatively low on frustration levels compared to other categories (55 percent extremely or very frustrated) despite having the longest expected wait times.

“Many drugstore items, including prescriptions, are necessities, which may account for customers’ willingness to wait,” said Krause. “Also, customers may be more understanding because they want to know that their prescriptions are filled correctly and recognize the consequences of receiving the wrong medicine.”

Convenience stores also scored low on frustration levels (59 percent extremely or very frustrated). In comparison, 65 percent of specialty clothing store customers and 68 percent of department store customers expressed levels of extremely or very frustrating feelings.

The Golden Rule
Waiting, unfortunately, is an inevitable experience for most retail customers. So, what can businesses do differently to make their customers happy?

“Reinforce the Golden Rule,” said Krause. “Employee attitudes and actions are the best tools to improve the customer experience. Attention, professionalism and pleasantness are the key employee behaviors to mitigate frustration.”

In fact, approximately half of all respondents cited pleasant and professional attitudes among employees as factors that would convince them to wait longer. Simple gestures, such as greeting customers with a smile, making eye contact and apologizing for the wait make customers feel as though someone is acknowledging the inconvenience. A clear and fair system for waiting and status updates are especially helpful in drugstores and pharmacies.

In addition, respondents cited employee presence, or having enough staff to handle the business, as the single-most important factor that can alleviate the impact of wait time.

“Adequate staffing is an art, not a science – especially with retailers closely watching costs in a tight economy. To compensate, employees should be properly trained and equipped to handle longer wait times and frustrated customers,” said Krause. “Retail managers should also monitor employees via mystery shoppers or other methods to ensure they maintain a pleasant and professional attitude. Above all, customer service and the overall customer experience are critical.”

This online Maritz Poll, which was conducted during the months of March through April, 2008, featured responses from 1,401 randomly selected adults from an Internet panel survey on topics related to wait times, employee attitudes and behavior, and customer experience. Respondents for this market research poll were split evenly between males and females, and results were weighted to match census demographics (on age, income, race, education and children in household). Margin of error for the overall poll is +/- three percent.

About Maritz® Poll
Maritz® Poll is a copyrighted poll conducted since 1988 by Maritz Research. Maritz Poll comprises regular surveys on topics related to the automotive, financial services, hospitality, retail, technology, and telecommunications sectors as well as workplace issues. Results of the poll may be used in print or broadcast media, provided credit is given to the Maritz Poll and/or Maritz Research. For more information, visit maritzpoll.com or call 1-877-4MARITZ.

About Maritz Research
As one of the world’s largest marketing research firms, Maritz Research, a unit of Maritz, helps many of today’s most successful companies improve performance through a deep understanding of their customers, employees and channel partners. Founded in 1973, it offers a range of strategic and tactical solutions concentrating primarily in the automotive, financial services, hospitality, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, retail, workplace and technology industries. The company has achieved ISO 9001 registration, the international symbol of quality. It is a member of CASRO, the Conference Board, and is the official sponsor of the American Marketing Association.