The survey found that a full two-thirds of Canadians (64%) say theyve abandoned an intended purchase and walked away from a line-up because it was too long or moving too slowly, and almost nine in ten consumers (88%) who have walked away from a purchase, have done so in the last year. The consumer survey, conducted on behalf of Moneris by Leger Marketing between May 18 and May 23, 2004, finds Canadians are no strangers when it comes to having to wait in line when making purchases, and reveals some alarming statistics on consumer behaviour at the point-of-sale. The survey findings also underline the degree to which business owners need to pay attention to their front-line operations. The true cost of line-ups - Most Canadians are not willing to wait in line for more than five minutes to purchase an item. About 20% of people would wait one to three minutes whereas 40% of Canadians would wait three to five minutes; - Canadians who walked away from their purchases due to line-ups estimated that the value of those purchases was an average $127 per year. With 56% of adult Canadians walking away from a purchase within the last year (and over 25% within the past month), merchants are losing out on approximately $1.7-billion in abandoned purchases annually; and - According to the Moneris survey, consumers say the two most aggravating circumstances at checkout are: when the people ahead of you in line are slow to complete their purchase; or when a product does not have a price or doesnt scan. In each case, 22% of Canadians identified these situations when asked to select from a list of aggravations at the checkout when making a purchase. Payment preference also plays a key role in consumer satisfaction at the point-of-sale, and the survey reinforces the need for merchants to accept the full complement of payment options. The survey found that overall, nearly two-thirds of Canadians (64%) prefer to use their debit or credit card for their purchases. And as the value of the purchase increases, so too does the consumers preference to use a card for payment. For purchases in the range of $25 to $75, the debit card is the preferred method of payment for about half of Canadians (49%), followed by credit (25%) and cash (24%). For purchases greater than $75, credit and debit cards reign supreme, combining for 81% of all payments.
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