Reopening Retail: 5 Ways to Make Customers Feel Safe
Fear is hardly the emotion business owners want customers to feel when they return to stores after coronavirus-related shutdowns are lifted. Creating an environment where shoppers feel safe and secure is crucial to drawing people back in, and new research may help owners position themselves for a positive return.
In an April 2020 survey conducted by First Insight, which offers technology to help retailers price products, 500 Americans were asked about their sentiments regarding safety in retail, specifically as various store types begin to reopen. Consumers believed they would feel safest shopping in categories that never closed, including grocery stores (54%) and drug store chains (50%).
Mall stores ranked the lowest, with only one-third of respondents saying they'd feel safe. Ranking in the middle were big box retailers (45%), warehouse clubs (43%), and local small businesses (43%).
The study also included data by gender—with men feeling safer than women overall.
Gretchen Jezerc, senior vice president of marketing at First Insight, says it's no surprise that places in which consumers have already found ways to feel safe may feel more comfortable.
“There seems to be a correlation between the number and proximity of people in the store environment and perceived safety," she notes.
Only time will tell what stores consumers actually visit or avoid, but as retail expert Bob Phibbs explains, “the reality is, people are anxious to get back to normal."
While stores with more open space may appear safest, they also have more foot traffic than smaller boutiques. “I think that's where people will feel more comfortable," says Phibbs, CEO of The Retail Doctor, which focuses on helping brick-and-mortar retailers beat online competitors by creating experiences.
Here are five ways experts suggest smaller retailers can put their customers at ease in the months to come.
1. Reach consumers at home
Retailers can start reassuring customers now, before stores actually reopen. Phibbs advises showing empathy for the current situation and explaining proactive safety efforts via the store's website and social media accounts.
Since nearly half (47%) of men surveyed believed they will feel safe shopping at local small businesses compared to 39% of women, Jezerc suggests considering male-targeted promotions. Special offers geared toward women may also entice them to shop, and providing an experience that feels safe upon arrival can help overcome any anxieties about going back to stores.
Promotions should mention “buy online, pick up in store" and curbside pickup options. Also, encouraging customers to phone ahead for what they want and then having them view items upon arrival can leverage “practices from the shutdown while still bringing the consumer in-store to potentially make additional purchases," she adds.
2. Institute familiar signs of safety
This involves taking cues from the essential stores that have remained open. Several practices working well for grocery and big-box stores “will transfer easily to small retailers," from providing hand sanitizer and cart/basket wipes to no-contact payments, says Jezerc. “Space permitting, a small store could implement a one-way [traffic] flow."
Phibbs can also envision small retailers placing sidewalk tape and other markers to help limit shopper numbers, and directional guidelines at registers to help space everyone out.
3. Make safety measures highly visible
Plan on placing sanitizer stations at the door and throughout the store—and makeup shields for customers entering dressing rooms so they can protect their faces. Signage should explain practices such as limiting store capacity, encouraging appointments and preferring credit payments over cash. “Ultimately, you want to make a show of your cleanliness," says Phibbs.
Jezerc suggests separating clean from used pens at registers to “demonstrate a purposeful, organized approach designed to keep shoppers safe." Retailers can increase safety perceptions by visibly engaging in ongoing cleaning practices as customers shop.
Providing safety gear may not be worth the cost and effort—since eight in 10 consumers surveyed prefer to use their own masks, and seven in 10 their own gloves. But Phibbs assumes stores in coronavirus hotspots like New York may provide masks.
“If I was a retailer, I'd be carrying masks for sale," he says, adding that he has seen branded ones being sold—even for customers' dogs.
4. Establish employee safety protocols
Local businesses with employees who regular customers know and connect with have an advantage over big box stores, in that the shopping experience feels more personal. In turn, this establishes trust with consumers.
It's important to have all employees on board with newly implemented safety precautions. “Now's the time for training crews in not just how to clean but how to develop rapport, even in a mask," Phibbs says. Avoid hospital-standard masks, choosing either branded ones or allowing employees to bring their own (with limits—“you certainly don't want to see an employee in one with grim reaper teeth," Phibbs cautions).
Consistency counts here too. “You don't want to see customers with masks and employees without, saying, 'our managers say we don't need them,'" he explains.
Employees may need reminders about how to care for and assist customers but not hover—plus a protocol for when a visitor doesn't practice social distancing measures.
5. Think through current and future realities
“Grand openings" aren't fitting for COVID-19 retail comebacks, Phibbs says. “You'll have a soft open. [Retailers are] learning a lot of procedures that are going to change."
Yet there is hope. Retail industry insiders have taken note of “revenge buying" in some reopened places—with the “revenge" directed at the coronavirus. “Pent-up demand is being released," Phibbs says.
On the other hand, some stores may have a slower start as consumers ease back in to shopping over the coming months. “Even if a $700 sale is typical, you have to think a $7 sale is great," Phibbs tells clients. “Be glad you have your opportunity. You are going to have to sell your way out of this."
Despite all that must happen now on the safety front, retailers need long-term plans involving more natural air and open spaces. “This is just the wake-up call," Phibbs says of today's pandemic. “In the future it may not be the whole nation going through this, but it could be a city getting locked down. Whatever we learn from this is going to be a playbook going forward."
