MODELLING OF QUEUEING SYSTEM AT SALES CHECKOUT AND ANALYSIS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY AT A SUPERMARKET IN BENGALURU.

Increased competition from online grocery stores has necessitated brick and mortar retailers to understand consumers better. This research attempts to understand consumer demographics, key factors driving buying behaviour, impact of loyalty programs on customer loyalty intentions at a well-established brick and mortar supermarket. A structured questionnaire was administered to 100 shoppers at a select Supermarket in Bengaluru city. Statistical tests of chi-square and correlation have been used. Convenience and ease of access, variety of product categories, quality and availability of products have emerged as key factors driving customer purchase behaviour. There is a significant impact of store loyalty programs on customers of different age groups. Empirical data of arrival and service times during the checkout process was recorded through observation technique to analyse the performance measures of the multi-channel multi-queue system at the checkout counters. Monte Carlo Simulation technique was used to analyse the operating characteristics of queues, efficiency and server utilization. These factors play a predominant role in understanding customer satisfaction during the checkout process and help the Management to evaluate service efficiency at the checkout points.