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UK shoppers hate queues and it cost retailers dear if they don’t think mobile

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The biggest bugbear of the British shopper is queues which put them off buying, but retailers are ignoring the fact, suggests a study. And there is a simple solution: mobile.

The study of 2000 UK shoppers by First Data uncovers that Britons find retail queues more irritating than any other queue for services or goods – with only 8% of respondents saying they’d wait the longest in a retail store queue.

But while retailers understand the problem most don’t know what to do about it. 73% of retailers believe long queues put customers off shopping there and 80% think it’s only acceptable for customers to wait 5 minutes maximum in a queue. Yet a whopping 54% struggle with a sudden influx of customers.

Half of retailers also believe that the answer is to throw more staff at the problem.

But the answer lies in technology. According to Raj Sond, General Manager at First Data: “Retailers can turn to technology to assist with their queuing problems. Simply, mobile technology is the answer to queue busting – not only is this technology portable, but the latest in EPOS technology helps the business owner get to the root cause of the problem. Having access to business and customer data enables the SME owner to understand where stock is missing and staffing is lacking.”

He continues: “Small businesses today compete as much with their neighbours on the high street as they do with the online giants. In order to compete and carve out a niche, small businesses must be encouraged to refine their affairs by utilising technology to help them tackle queues and more ensuring they capture the custom of the time-poor high street consumer.”

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