walk-a·ways

Walkaway

walk-a·ways (noun): Retail customers so frustrated by store checkout lines that they leave a shop without completing their purchases (see also: queue management).

An October 16, 2009 article entitled "Smart retailers fight walk-aways at the checkout," published on the trade website retailcustomerexperience.com, defined the problem of walk-aways, potential causes, and their impact as lost revenue:

"Research suggests that retailers experience an average of 1.6 percent of customers leaves the checkout queue — and the store — without completing the purchase. While the percentage seems relatively small, consider a retailer with 500 stores throughout the U.S. that averages 500 transactions per store, per day with an average customer purchase of $30. That small percentage adds up to $280 per store per day, or, $100,800 per year. Multiply that by the retailers 500 stores and this retailer is losing $50,400,000 each year because its customers are opting to walk out of the store without completing the purchase. They’re dropping the items and are walking away. We call them walk-aways.

Why do walk-aways happen? It’s simple, really. In today’s fast-paced world, consumers are short on time and money. When shopping, consumers can navigate the store at their own pace, selecting the items they’d like to purchase; however, when moving toward the checkout queue there is an ingrained perception that there will be an inefficient and slow-moving line. It’s when perception meets reality that many consumers opt to walk away without completing the purchase."



 
Posted by Josh Friedland on Oct 21, 2009 in Business, Dictionary of Modern Gastronomy, What's Fresh | Link | | Print this page | Share This



 

Comments

Oct 21, 2009 2:01:41 PM
Posted By: Faith Kramer

Funny, I just did one of these at a Whole Foods here in California three days ago. I had nothing imperative or perishable in my basket, and even the express line had a wait. I just didn't really need any of the goods, some of which I felt were overpriced anyway, so I parked my cart and walked. (If I had perishables in the cart I would have probably waited in line)
For me it was a balance between convenience, price and urgency. A long line just tipped the equation the wrong way.

 

Oct 21, 2009 11:46:53 PM
Posted By: Ruthlessma

I "walked-away" for the first time last winter. Will continue to do so if the shopping experience turns into a pain in the neck again. Couldn't find an employee that spoke english, called the store from my cell phone to find sesame seeds (of all things), and the employee that answered the phone not only didn't have a clue where anything was located, she laughed at my question. Didn't even pretend to offer any assistance. My frustration level was high enough I didn't care if there were perishables in the cart or not. Left the cart sitting right in the middle of the aisle (seafood and all). And another thing........those stores that train their employees to acknowledge you, and ask you if they can help you find something (Safeway & Wal-Mart); they need to be taught to at least make eye contact with you when they are "pretending" to assist the customers.

 

Dec 31, 2010 6:28:53 AM
Posted By: Kamagra Online

Great piece of article. It explains so much about the topic. I should say it is a detailed article. Talks about a variety of things - something which I never thought could exist. What I found different in your article is the way you have gone about to explain the topic in a simplistic way.

 

Apr 3, 2011 7:14:45 PM
Posted By: American Attorneys

sometimes, when I need to buy food, and Im late for work, I preffer walk away. I blame some stires, because they only have one cashier for 50 persons... is unfair and tired.

 

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