Today’s shoppers expect fast, frictionless service—yet most stores still struggle with wait times and wandering customers. Here’s how real-time retail can change that.
Helping Stores Turn More Shoppers Into Buyers
You can book a ride, stream a show, or get dinner delivered in minutes. But walk into a store, and you might still wait five minutes just to unlock a showcase, or spend even longer scanning the aisles for someone to assist.
In retail, the wait isn’t always a line. Sometimes it’s that awkward moment standing near a product, hoping someone notices. Sometimes it’s walking in circles, unsure where to go. For customers, these moments feel small. For retailers, they’re silent revenue killers.
Shoppers are increasingly time-sensitive and experience-aware. They know what good service looks like and when it’s missing. And when that moment of friction hits, they leave — sometimes without buying, sometimes for good.
Recent data shows how costly this silent friction really is:
Even as foot traffic rebounds post-pandemic, service levels haven’t caught up. Many stores are still managing demand the old way: with static staffing plans, limited visibility, and over-reliance on customers to ask for help.
Meanwhile, expectations are changing fast.
In 2025, service speed isn’t just an efficiency metric — it’s a brand differentiator. Forward-thinking retailers are moving toward real-time retail: an approach that uses live data to anticipate needs, allocate staff dynamically, and resolve requests fast.
This shift means replacing guesswork with precision. Instead of hoping an associate is nearby, make help accessible with a button and route requests to the best team member, based on their role, proximity, availability, and skills.
The result? Fewer frustrated customers. More completed purchases. Higher associate morale.
During Black Friday 2024, 14 stores tested a real-time retail model using smart request routing and live dashboards. The results offer a glimpse into what’s possible when every second counts:
Stores like Brandon, MB added over $75,000 in revenue in one week, with a 2,700% ROI from reducing service friction.
These weren’t tech-first stores in urban centers. Some were in mid-sized towns or regional locations with standard staffing models.
What changed wasn’t the number of people – it was the visibility.
The most successful stores didn’t just move faster. They moved smarter. Service requests were matched to associates with the right product knowledge and tools — not just the nearest employee. Associates used real-time tip cards to guide the interaction, upsell when relevant, and close the loop with confidence.
Customers left feeling helped, not hurried.
This balance of speed and personalization is what defines next-gen CX. In fact:
Not every retailer needs a complete tech overhaul. But every retail leader should be asking:
Technology doesn’t replace great service. It enables it. Whether it’s unlocking a product, helping with a return, or making a recommendation, speed without relevance falls flat. But speed with context? That’s conversion fuel.
Physical retail still accounts for more than 80 percent of total retail sales. The opportunity is massive, but so is the margin for error.
Customers will keep walking through your doors. The question is whether they’ll keep walking back out, frustrated, or leave with a full basket and a reason to return.
If you’re curious how your stores measure up, tools like real-time routing and service analytics can shine a light on what’s working — and what’s costing you more than you think.
The biggest issues include understaffed areas, lack of real-time visibility, and inefficient routing of customer requests.
It uses live data to route requests to the best associate, reduce wait times, and ensure fast, relevant service.
Yes. A single minute saved can increase satisfaction, boost basket size, and reduce churn. Some stores saw over 2,700% ROI in one week.
In top-performing pilots, average wait time dropped to 1 minute and 23 seconds, with most requests resolved in under two minutes.
Yes. Regional and mid-size stores have seen equally strong results when equipped with real-time retail tools.
Empowered associates—those with training, tools, and context—drive faster resolution and higher customer satisfaction.
