Refining your checkout process

When busy season ramps up, checkout lines may start to stretch longer in your stores. If the checkout lines seem chaotic, that can adversely affect revenue and downgrade your attraction services score. People do not like to guess where a line forms or ends, as it can add stress and discomfort to the guest experience.

Destination retailers can take the guesswork out of this by defining their lines with signs and stanchions. These tools can add a level of order to your checkout process.

Intentional line orders

If you have a long line of guests in front of your register and they catch you yelling for the next customer to come up, this might hit a guest’s friction point. Chaotic queue lines and checkout processes can lead to negative and sometimes disorienting experiences.

Having controlled lines at your checkout keeps order and consistency. It improves customer experience.

"If you make the waiting time for your guests more engaging, it makes for an overall happier shopping experience."

The way to change that experience for your guests is by creating an intentional line order. Having an intentional line order means being mindful of surroundings. It must not block merchandise or store flow.

You will also want to have easy-to-understand signs so that guests know where to start the queue. Defined queue lines do not have to be long; six to eight feet is plenty long to start a defined row of guests.

Always test your line and monitor it to see if the guests understand it. If you see confusion at the defined line, change it and try another approach.

Upsell in the queue

Your checkout lines are a great place for add-on sales. Use line control as a chance to sell more to your guests.

Retail queuing troughs can help you highlight bin items for add-on sales, all while controlling the register line. You could also feature videos or signs that promote sales or shopping events in the queue.

If you make the waiting time for your guests more engaging, it makes for an overall happier shopping experience in the queue.

Offer a positive experience

Order and engagement are your queue line goals. If a guest enters the line correctly and talks about things you have added to the line for interest, you have achieved your goal.

Attraction retail should always be an experience all the way up to checking out at the register. Remember, it is your responsibility as a retailer to ensure that you eliminate guest conflict points and create unique guest experiences, so start with your register queue and create that retail magic for all.

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Tommy Brown has over 30 years’ experience in retail management. He’s held positions for Dillard’s, Sears, and Six Flags Inc. and is a past ZAG vice president. He currently guides retail at the Saint Louis Zoo. Reach him at tbrown@stlzoo.org.