Keep customer satisfaction levels high during the festive season

Research has predicted that British families will spend an average £821.25 on gifts, food, drink and decorations for Christmas this year; according to figures from VoucherCodes and the Centre for Retail Research (CRR). With 19 million families in the UK, it’s expected that as a nation we’ll spend a whopping £15.6billion on Christmas alone this festive period. These figures do not take into account other prime shopping days, such as Boxing Day. Boxing Day is usually one of the busiest shopping days of the year in the UK and is when the ‘January Sales’ kick in. In order for retailers to maximise profits in their stores, they must keep customer satisfaction levels high, both before and after Christmas. As experts in bespoke retail queue management solutions, we give our 4 top tips.

Here are Tensator®’s top 4 tips to keep customer satisfaction levels high during the festive season

Keep queues under control with suitable equipment

Unfortunately, peak shopping times such as the run up to Christmas and the days following mean that queuing is inevitable. Of course, there are measures that can be put in place to speed up queues, such as hiring extra till assistants and introducing fast payment services such as contactless payment. Managing queues efficiently can reduce overall queuing time and keep customer satisfaction levels high.

Products such as Tensabarrier® can be used to provide a visible order to the waiting line and can help reduce customer uncertainty as to where to queue. Deploying solutions such as Tensabarriers keep the queue organised and help to avoid blocking walkways within a store. Tensabarriers are also portable, therefore can be used when during peak queuing times, then can be easily removed from the shop floor when waiting lines reduce.

Occupy shoppers in a queue

Offering activities in a queue environment can distract a customer and make it feel like the queue is moving faster. Shorter perceived waiting times can increase customer satisfaction levels. Distractions include In-Queue Merchandising where shoppers can pick up any last minute stocking fillers. As well a providing an activity for customers, an In-Queue Merchandising system can also turn queuing into a profitable exercise for retailers.

Maintain good levels of stock throughout your store – where possible

A common source of frustration from customers in retail stores over the festive season is lack of available stock. Store deliveries come in thick-and-fast in the weeks coming up to Christmas. Ensure that empty shelves are restocked quickly, where possible, as this will save stores assistants time as well as improving consumer satisfaction.

Of course, shoppers appreciate that retailers do not hold an infinite amount of stock. Manage their expectations by giving a realistic time frame in which you’d expect a redelivery. If your store offers a click and collect type service, offer this to your customer as an alternative solution.

Make sure that Christmas displays do not restrict accessibility within your store

Christmas time in a retail environment sees an increase in stock and shoppers as well as additional promotional displays within a store. Although these Christmas displays add a touch of festivity to a store, they can also prove to be a nuisance for customers with disabilities that limit their mobility. Temporary promotional displays are often moved around stores over the Christmas period, which can confuse visually impaired customers who can come to rely on the familiarity of a layout to move through a store. They can also protrude out into walkways, creating tighter space for wheelchair users to navigate. Although these displays are temporary, they can make permanent impressions on disabled shoppers.

When setting up promotional displays within your store, keep accessibility at the forefront of your mind and make sure that your store is welcoming for disabled shoppers. Doing so will help to keep customer satisfaction levels high during the Christmas shopping period.

Another positive of using Tensabarriers is the universal base, designed to enable accessibility for all within a store environment. Pushchairs, trolleys and wheelchair wheels all easily pass over the universal base, making for a better queuing experience for all.

These are just 4 examples of how we can use retail queue management solutions to keep customer satisfaction levels high during the festive season. We at Tensator® hope that the Christmas period is a successful time for your business. In order to find out more about our products and how they can be used to improve customer experience within your store, why not take a look at our retail brochure? To download, click below.