Queuing app, ufirst, is rolling out in the UK ahead of a winter when queues at supermarkets, retailers and other businesses are likely to be a fact of life due to Covid restrictions. The app was trialled at several Sainsbury’s stores in the summer and aims to significantly reduce physical waiting times for customers.
ufirst, developed and headquartered in Italy, has appointed Sean Gogarty and Jat Sahota, former senior executives at Unilever and Sainsbury’s respectively, to manage its UK launch and drive business development. They will do this via RangeFinder, an investment vehicle set up by the pair aimed at supporting ‘technology solutions’ that drive growth and margins for retailers and brands.
The ufirst app allows users to join a single queue or different queues remotely, showing them where they are in each queue so that they only need to turn up in person when their turn is approaching. It can also be used to check whether a specific time and date to access a service is available and to book.
Sahota, who worked at Sainsbury’s in leadership roles for 10 years until 2015, said: “Retailers have done a great job of implementing Covid-compliant measures inside their stores, but few have properly thought through how to manage queues in the cold, wet months ahead. Best in class queue management will be a vital part of the customer experience. A business that can organise its queues efficiently will win in the safety stakes and stand to gain market share in the difficult times ahead.”
During the height of the pandemic, ufirst helped millions of Italians do their grocery shopping. It is now used across many public and private settings in Italy including local government, universities, and hospitals/healthcare settings, as well as by IKEA, McDonald’s, Italian supermarket Esselunga, and major banks.
