DALLAS, Nov. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As retailers head into the stretch from Black Friday through New Year’s, when crowds push stores harder than any other time of year, shoppers are already walking away from ordinary busy-hour trips. The Logile 2026 Peak Hour Penalty Report found 78% of shoppers have left a store without buying anything in the past six months because of rush-related problems like long lines or a lack of help. The findings also highlight how staffing gaps, empty shelves and inconsistent store readiness can hurt the shopping experience, putting immediate sales and long-term customer loyalty at risk.
Logile, Inc., a global leader in AI-powered Connected Workforce solutions, surveyed 750 U.S. consumers ages 18 and older in October 2026 using the third-party survey platform Pollfish. Eligible respondents shop for groceries and everyday retail purchases mostly in person or through a mix of in-person and online shopping.
Key findings from the Logile 2026 Peak Hour Penalty Report include:
- The average abandoned shopping trip was worth about $113 among shoppers who remember what they’d planned to spend.
- More than three in four shoppers (78%) have left a store without buying anything in the past six months because of rush-related problems like long lines or a lack of help.
- 43% of shoppers walked out empty-handed on a trip where they’d planned to spend $50 or more, including 24% who’d planned to spend $100 or more.
- Nearly three in four shoppers (74%) agree that understaffing during a busy time that could have been predicted is a planning failure instead of bad luck.
- 59% of shoppers blame store management or corporate when a store is a mess during a rush, while only 8% blame the employees working that shift.
- More than half of shoppers (55%) have stopped treating a store as their regular store or cut back on visits after repeated bad trips.
- 60% of shoppers would view a store more favorably if they knew it used technology to keep enough staff scheduled for its busiest times.
- Nearly half of shoppers (46%) have encountered empty shelves during busy shopping periods, while 48% have found checkout lanes closed in a packed store.
- Shoppers want stores better prepared before the rush: 64% say more open checkout lanes would improve their experience, 42% want better-stocked shelves and 35% want more associates available on the sales floor.
The findings suggest shoppers see peak-hour problems as preventable failures in store readiness, and they’re responding with their wallets. While busy hours often follow predictable patterns, preparing for them requires more than scheduling enough employees. Retailers must align labor, inventory, replenishment and daily store execution around anticipated demand, ensuring the right people, products and activities are in place before customers arrive.
“Shoppers see a long line at 5 p.m. on a Friday as something a store should have anticipated, and they’re right,” said Purna Mishra, president and CEO of Logile. “Store teams work incredibly hard, but they can’t always overcome disconnected plans, staffing gaps or shelves that weren’t replenished in time. The opportunity for retailers is to anticipate demand and connect the decisions that follow, from staffing and scheduling to inventory and store execution. That’s how you move from reacting to the rush to being ready for it.”
The research comes as holiday crowds are about to put more pressure on stores, with 46% of shoppers saying longer checkout lines make the season harder than the rest of the year. The survey asked about the previous six months, a window that doesn’t include last year’s holiday season, so the $113 average reflects ordinary shopping weeks. Store associates see the same gap from behind the register, with 77% saying labor planning gaps were hurting store performance in Logile’s 2025 Labor Planning & Optimization Report.
For retailers, the takeaway is that the busiest hours can determine whether a store is worth the trip. Shoppers want more open checkout lanes (64%) and better-stocked shelves before the rush (42%), reinforcing that store readiness goes beyond staffing alone. It requires connecting labor planning with inventory availability, replenishment and store execution. In grocery, that extends to fresh production, where having the right products prepared and available at the right time is equally important. Retailers that bring these decisions together can create more consistent shopping experiences and earn the loyalty that poorly prepared competitors risk losing.
Frequently Asked Questions About Peak-Hour Shopping and Retail Staffing:
How much money do shoppers leave behind when stores are too busy?
Shoppers leave behind a meaningful amount of money when stores are too busy, with the average abandoned trip worth about $113 among shoppers who remember what they’d planned to spend, according to the Logile 2026 Peak Hour Penalty Report. More than four in ten shoppers (43%) walked out empty-handed in the past six months on a trip where they’d planned to spend $50 or more.
What bothers shoppers most when a store is short-staffed?
Long checkout lines bother shoppers most when a store is short-staffed, named by 42% of shoppers, nearly four times the share of any other answer in Logile’s research. Not having enough associates to help ranks second at 11%.
Who do shoppers blame when a store is understaffed during a rush?
Logile’s report found shoppers mostly blame store management or corporate when a store is understaffed during a rush, with 59% pointing to scheduling decisions and only 8% blaming the employees working that shift. Nearly three in four (74%) agree that understaffing at a predictable busy time is a planning failure instead of bad luck.
Does the holiday season make checkout lines worse?
The holiday season makes checkout lines worse for many shoppers, with 46% saying longer lines make shopping between Black Friday and New Year’s harder than the rest of the year, Logile’s report found. Overcrowded parking lots rank second at 37%.
Would shoppers pay more to shop at a store with shorter lines?
Logile’s research found many shoppers would pay more to shop at a store with shorter lines, with more than half (52%) saying they’d pay extra on a $100 purchase at a store that usually has shorter lines and associates available to help. One in five (20%) would pay at least $11 more on that purchase.
What would improve the shopping experience during a store’s busiest hours?
More open checkout lanes would do the most to improve the shopping experience during a store’s busiest hours, chosen by 64% of shoppers in Logile’s report. Six in ten (60%) also say they’d view a store more favorably if they knew it used technology to keep enough staff scheduled for its busiest times.
How can retailers reduce long checkout lines during peak hours?
Retailers can reduce long checkout lines during peak hours by building staffing plans from forecasted hourly demand, so more lanes are open when traffic reliably peaks, Logile’s research found. That approach matches what shoppers ask for most, since 64% say more open checkout lanes would improve their experience at a store’s busiest times, and 74% see predictable understaffing as a planning failure the store could have avoided.
How can retailers prepare for peak hour demand while managing scheduling compliance?
Retailers can prepare for peak hour demand while managing scheduling compliance by planning well in advance, rather than relying on last-minute schedule changes. AI-powered demand forecasting helps retailers anticipate labor requirements and build more accurate schedules while accounting for employee availability and operational needs. For retailers subject to Fair Workweek and predictive scheduling laws, earlier planning can also help reduce disruptive schedule changes and support compliance with advance notice requirements, scheduling-change rules and associated obligations.
For the full results and additional insights, view the Logile 2026 Peak Hour Penalty Report.
About Logile
Logile helps retailers run great stores with confidence. As a global leader in AI-powered Connected Workforce solutions, Logile cuts through operational chaos with one platform and one plan to keep every shift, shelf and store in sync. A retail AI trailblazer founded in 2005, Logile makes demand-driven operations real and repeatable by unifying forecasting, labor scheduling, task execution, inventory, fresh item management and food safety into a single platform. The result: less waste, labor aligned to real demand, stronger execution and consistently better-performing stores. Learn more at logile.com.
Media Contact
Idea Grove, on behalf of Logile
logile@ideagrove.com
