Big-Box Stores with the Longest Lines

You think you'll swing by your local big-box store next Saturday and quickly grab 300 pounds of goodies to stuff into your trunk?

No way. A big-box shopping excursion is a saga, and long lines are always at the center of the drama. Long lines to get in, long lines to check out, and long lines to exit the parking lot as you leave. We know because many of you play a quick game of solitaire while waiting in line.

We recently analyzed Google reviews for more than 6,800 big-box stores across the country, tracking how frequently long lines and waits were mentioned among all mediocre and poor reviews.

Something’s busted in New Jersey. That’s all we know. Ten out of the 50 worst stores in the whole country are in New Jersey. Frankly, the whole east coast appears to be a mess of big-box lines snaking every which way.

Our analysis also reveals which chains have the worst lines on average. While Costco gets a lot of attention due to its rabid fanbase—and with that come spectacular lines—it’s actually Sam’s Club taking the dubious honor of worst lines in America.

Full Report

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Where Big-Box Stores Have the Longest Lines

Thousands of big-box stores are spread all across the U.S. From bulk shopping at Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s Wholesale Club to your one-stop shop at Walmart Supercenter and Target—these stores are among many of Americans’ favorites. Due to this popularity, however, it is common to find yourself waiting lengthy amounts of time after collecting your items as you stand in line to check out. At Solitaire Bliss, we know a game on your phone can only fill up so much time, and that’s why we set out to learn which locations across the country leave shoppers frustrated with their wait.

To do this, we collected Google reviews for more than 6,800 big-box stores across the country and analyzed the ones with three or fewer stars, looking for mentions of 20+ keywords related to long lines and waiting. We then divided the total number of mentions by the number of reviews with three or fewer stars to calculate a percentage of customers’ experiences with long lines.

Leading the way with the highest percentage of long line experiences is Costco in Pleasanton, CA (78.79%). Sure shopping at slower times on weekdays can help limit these wait times, but if you are in the Pleasanton, CA, area, this may be one store where you should give yourself plenty of time for shopping and checking out no matter what time or day you visit.

For our second-place store, we stay in California, traveling about 400 miles south to Redlands, CA, where 75.44% of negative customer experiences are related to waiting in long lines at the local Target. Sure there’s self checkout, but those lines have been known to get just as lengthy as the lines for registers run by employees.

In third place is a Walmart Supercenter located in Halethorpe, MD, where 70.78% of customer experiences involve long lines. Similar to Target, Walmart Supercenters receive complaints frequently from disgruntled customers who are frustrated with long checkout lines. Some customers have even shared their outrage on social media alongside tales of the experience and, at times, photos or videos of the lengthy lines.

When reviewing big-box stores by state, we discovered locations in New Jersey, Maryland, and Connecticut have the longest lines on average.

Where Big-Box Stores’ Lines Are Shortest

While every chain is likely to have some locations that are worse than others, we also wanted to highlight the big-box stores that have customers breezing through checkouts in no time at all. Up first with the shortest lines is the Walmart Supercenter in Wayne, WV. With only 1.04% of negative experiences related to long lines, the store offers customers all their shopping needs in one place, while keeping wait for checkouts short.

Next up is the Target in Melbourne Village, FL, where only 1.32% of experiences involve long lines. This is followed by six more Target locations claiming third through eighth place. This includes the locations in Jackson, TN, Manhattan, KS, Wichita Falls, TX, Fort Collins, CO, Avon, OH, and Kelso, WA, respectively.

A BJ’s Wholesale Club in Warwick, RI, ranks ninth, while another Target in Stevens Point, WI, rounds out the top 10 locations with the shortest lines. When zooming out on a state-wide scale, we found that Arkansas, Idaho, and Maine claim the top spots for the shortest lines at big-box stores.

The Big-Box Stores That Keep Waiting the Most

After analyzing complaints regarding waits and long lines by location, we wanted to gain a better overall understanding of the big-box stores that keep customers waiting around most frequently at checkouts. In doing this, we discovered Sam’s Club has the highest percentage of experiences involving long lines.

With more than 600 locations spanning 44 states and Puerto Rico, 30.38% of negative customer experiences at this membership-only warehouse club are related to waiting in long lines. Following closely behind in second place is BJ’s Wholesale Club with 30.24% of customer experiences being plagued by long waits.

Costco Wholesale claims the middle of the ranking with 21.53%, while Target and Walmart Supercenter rank fourth and fifth, respectively, making them the best places to shop to avoid lines in general.

Experience Bliss in Checkout Lines with Solitaire

Whether you have a busy day full of errands or you are making a leisurely trip to your favorite big-box store, pushing your cart to the front of the store only to be met with a long line can be irritating. So rather than letting the wait ruin your mood, we at Solitaire Bliss encourage you to find a fun way to pass the time instead.

Whether it’s a game of Spider Solitaire or FreeCell, you’d be surprised how much quicker the line moves when you are playing a game on your phone instead of staring at the people in front of you. Just be sure to pay attention and move up when the line does move…afterall, you don’t want to be the reason people are waiting in line longer than required.

Methodology

In this study, we set out to learn which big box stores across the U.S. have the longest lines. To do this, we collected Google Reviews for more than 6,800 stores across the country. This included BJ's Wholesale Club, Costco Wholesale, Sam's Club, Target, and Walmart Supercenters. We then analyzed reviews with three or fewer stars for mentions of 20+ keywords related to long lines and waiting.

We then divided the total number of mentions by the number of reviews with three or fewer stars to create a percentage of experiences with long lines. We used this percentage to then rank stores from the longest to shortest lines experienced on average. Finally, using these percentages, we also calculated the average percentage by state, store, and region to analyze trends.