WAITING LINE MANAGEMENT SURVEY SUMMARY REPORT

Transcription

1 The 2016 State of WAITING LINE MANAGEMENT SURVEY SUMMARY REPORT

2 INTRODUCTION Lavi Industries recently conducted a survey to assess the role of specific waiting line practices, products, and technologies on customer satisfaction, staff productivity, and impulse sales. 81 respondents representing over a dozen industries spoke out about their companies queue management practices. The 2016 State of Waiting Line Management report summarizes the results of the study and offers insight into how these companies manage queues today and how their strategies may evolve in the months and years ahead. Let s look at the results.

3 HOW WAITING LINES ARE CONFIGURED. Approximately 50% of respondents utilize a single line queue. Single line queue leading to mulitple servers/agents Single line queue leading to a single server/agent Multiple lines leading to multiple servers/agents Multiple agents each with their own waiting line Virtual Queue Other 8.33% 4.17% 7.41% 3.70% 5.08% 5.08% 2016 HIGHLIGHTS: 8.33% There was a 5% increase in the use of virtual queuing among retail respondents in our 2016 study compared to This year s respondents were far less likely to use a single line queue leading to a single server/agent and more likely to have a single line queue leading to multiple servers/ agents. 25% 4.17% RETAILERS 50% 33.33% 3.70% NON-RETAIL 48.15% 13.56% 45.76% 27.12% 3.39% ALL RESPONDENTS

4 WHAT ARE MANAGERS TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH? Reducing the time customers spend waiting and serving more customers are respondents most important queue management goals. Reduce the amount of time customers spend waiting in line. Increase the number of customers we are able to serve over a given time period. Very Unimportant Not Important Neutral Important Very Important Improve the customer experience in the waiting line. Improve our ability to monitor average wait times HIGHLIGHT: Implement alternative waiting line solutions. Reducing the amount of time customers spend waiting took the top spot, moving up from 2nd place in Implement technology in the waiting line. Increase impulse sales in the waiting line/queue.

5 HOW WAITING LINES ARE FORMED. Respondents most often cited retractable belt stanchions, signage panels, and merchandising posts as the products used to form their waiting lines. RETRACTABLE BELT STANCHIONS SIGNAGE PANELS OTHER MERCHANDISING POSTS STANDARD MERCHANDISING FIXTURES FLOOR GRAPHICS POST AND ROPE STANCHIONS RIGID RAIL BARRICADES SLATWALL PANELS GRIDWALL PANELS 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

6 MERCHANDISING IN THE QUEUE. Almost half of our respondents offer merchandise in the waiting line. Retailers we surveyed were more likely to offer merchandise in the queue. ALL RESPONDENTS RETAILERS 55% NO 45% YES 15% NO 85% YES 2016 HIGHLIGHT: This year s retail respondents were 20% more likely to offer merchandising in the queue than last year s respondents.

7 HOW MERCHANDISE IS DISPLAYED. Shelves, baskets, and hooks are most often used to display merchandising in the queue, according to respondents. SHELVES BASKETS HOOKS MERCHANDISE BOWLS MAGAZINE RACKS NONE OF THESE OTHER 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

8 ALMOST ONE-QUARTER OF RESPONDENTS USE ELECTRONIC QUEUING. 24% YES 76% No

9 PEOPLE COUNTING TECHNOLOGY GAINED NOTABLE TRACTION AMONG RETAILERS. 15% of all respondents use technology to monitor customer wait times, queue length, or other KPIs in their waiting lines. 1.89% NOT SURE 15.09% YES 22.73% YES 12% YES 2016 HIGHLIGHT: Retailers in our 2016 study were 7% more likely than those in our 2015 study to use people counting technology in the queue. 83.2% NO 77.27% NO 88% NO ALL RESPONDENTS RETAILERS NON-RETAIL

10 HOW RESPONDENTS FEEL ABOUT THEIR CURRENT WAITING LINE STRATEGIES. 18% feel their organizations are able to maximize impulse sales in the queue. 27% believe their customers are happy with the waiting line experience. 51% agree that their waiting lines are highly organized. 53% believe their companies maintain optimal wait times. 66% say their customers rarely leave the waiting line without completing their transactions.

11 THE FUTURE OF WAITING LINE MANAGEMENT. Looking ahead to the next 3 to 5 years, respondents say they ll likely or extremely likely consider the following: MOBILE WAITING LINE APP IN-LINE MERCHANDISING ELECTRONIC CALL-FORWARD QUEUING SYSTEM QUEUE MONITORING SYSTEM SINGLE LINE QUEUE VIRTUAL QUEUING SYSTEM TWO-WAY TEXTING 55.56% 54.35% 51.11% 51.16% 41.86% 37.21% 36.36% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

12 BIGGEST CHALLENGES. Respondents were asked to name their organization s single biggest challenge when it comes to managing waiting lines. Managing sudden changes in volume. Making customers feel they are being attended to. Knowing what to expect and when. Managing the sudden influx of customers waiting in line. Optimizing the efficiency of server allocation. Managing slow and busy times that are highly variable.

13 SURVEY RESPONDENTS. This survey was conducted online from a panel of 81 decision makers and managers of waiting lines, representing a wide range of industries as follows: Financial Services 2.9% Healthcare 2.9% Government & Public Sector 4.3% Entertainment & Leisure 5.8% Other 13% Retail 46.4% Food Services 7.2% Hospitality 7.2% Transportation 11.6% Stadiums & Venues 11.6%

14 SURVEY RESPONDENTS. Respondents represented product and service-based enterprises. 22.5% We offer products and services equally 37.5% We primarily offer products 40% We primarily offer services

15 SURVEY RESPONDENTS. Nearly 90% of respondents are involved in purchase decisions related to waiting line management. Not involved Involved

16 ABOUT LAVI INDUSTRIES Based in Valencia, California, Lavi Industries is the premier provider of public guidance, crowd control solutions, and queue management systems in North America. Leveraging its portfolio of world-class brands Beltrac stanchions, Directrac signage systems, Qtrac electronic queuing systems, and NeXtrac in-line merchandising systems Lavi has helped the world s leading companies effectively guide people in, through, and out of their facilities. More information is available at Don t Hate the Wait How Virtual Queuing Can Transform the Customer Journey and Reshape the Way We Wait for Service GET THE GUIDE > (888)