Más allá del papel o plástico: Aceptando las opciones de fila de espera en tiendas de autosoervicio

When you stop to think about it, the job of grocery store queuing is tricky. Make customers wait too long to buy a gallon of milk and they’ll just as soon choose another store next time. Make the waiting line experience a smooth and quick one, and you can earn customers for life. Checkout line configurations vary from store to store and chain to chain. Some grocers incorporate the self-checkout, taking advantage of the customer’s desire to be in charge of their entire shopping trip. Other stores offer the “12 items or less” option along with the multi-line, multi-server configuration. There are even some chains that have implemented the single-line, multi-server solution. Many others offer variations and combinations of the above. With all of these options, it can be difficult to determine what configuration is best for your store. Ultimately, what customers gravitate toward is old-fashioned good service combined with modern efficiency.

Smartphones Go to Market

Smartphone owners are never far from their mobile device, and they trust this small piece of technology to do just about everything they want it to do, including assisting with the grocery shopping. Some grocery stores are counting on this dependency. After all, if a customer is using an app to store their grocery list, why not take it one step further? So instead of spending on hardware, grocery chains are investing in software that allows shoppers to use their iPhone and Android smartphones to scan, tally, and bag their groceries while they shop. Many grocers are operating on the premise that people already own the necessary tools and will bring them to the store with them to get their shopping done. While most adults do have a smartphone, not all smartphone owners embrace technological advancements when it comes to grocery shopping. They may simply crave a positive shopping experience that doesn’t obligate them to take their phone out at all. Ultimately, having plenty of registers from which to choose, short lines, efficient staff, and helpful baggers is what makes the biggest impression on grocery store customers. Covering the basics make a stronger impact on shoppers than fancy technology. Which means queue configuration is just as important as it has always been.

Doing Away with “Line Envy”

Customers might be taken aback if their favorite grocery store suddenly switched from a multi-line, multi-server queue configuration to a single-line, multi-server operation. But many groceries are reconfiguring their express checkout lines as such, and checkout has become much speedier. MIT engineering professor Dick Larson, aka “Dr. Queue,” studies the psychology of waiting in line and says a trip to the grocery store initiates queue calculus: “Do I buy that 13th item and then have to stand in a long queue? Do I try self-checkout, risking that I'll not know how to do the fresh produce? Do I join the slightly longer human-gated queue since the checkout clerk there looks a lot speedier than the one serving the shorter line?" How a person carries on with their grocery store trip often depends on what is or isn’t happening with the queue. They may want to beat the lunchtime rush or avoid getting behind the mom who lets her preschooler scan everything himself, for example. Some grocery chains are implementing new checkout systems that rely on queue monitoring technology and real-time analytics, monitoring the number of customers that enter the store and then estimating how many registers will need to be available within a certain time period to meet established kpi’s. The system uses technology to provide an employee-centric solution. Employees are notified when registers need to be opened, which helps stores stay ahead of the rush and avoid developing any queue back-up. Many chains report their employees are still proving to be the best defense against long lines, whether that’s thanks to the proactive manager, the speedy bagger, or the fast-acting service agent.