The retail cleaning dilemma
Shops are making a comeback – but the sector is still struggling to claw back crowds after COVID-19. What can retail managers do to improve the customer experience while also making people feel safe and keeping down costs, asks Essity’s Stuart Hands.
In March this year, Ipswich Borough Council came up with an ambitious new scheme designed to attract shoppers back into its town centre.
After two years of customer anxiety and pandemic lockdowns, the town went all out to sell its shopping experience. A temporary marketplace was created in the town centre with pop-up stalls and a spectacular light show.
Other events held during the ‘Welcome Back Weekend’ included interactive science displays and an open mic night of poetry, comedy, and music. The event was a roaring success and Ipswich attracted crowds equal to those experienced before the pandemic.
This was just one of the many creative ways in which shopping centres have been striving to tempt back the public over recent months. The public certainly needed tempting back, according to the data. In the second quarter of 2021, the overall GB vacancy rate for shop units increased to 14.5% – the highest ever recorded by the Local Data Company. As shops fell empty, people had even less of an incentive to brave the potentially contaminated environment of the local precinct.
This picture has now improved slightly, with the number of empty units throughout the UK falling by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the previous quarter. However, the overall proportion of empty stores remains high, while the cost of living crisis means that people also have less money to spend.
So, what do retail chiefs need to do to tempt people back to the shops? The answer is: it depends on the customer.
Some shoppers are nervous about mixing with crowds while also craving the interactive experience gained by a visit to a physical store. These people will respond well to an enhanced shopping experience, but will also seek reassurance that the environment is clean, hygienic, and safe.
Other customers prefer the simplicity and anonymity of buying online, but might still be tempted back to the shops if the experience is quick and seamless. So, retail chiefs are working hard to make shopping easy, attractive, and safe for these clients.
Some stores such as IKEA have turned the shopping experience into a family day out by incorporating restaurants and a kindergarten. Others, such as beauty brand Lush, focus heavily on the customer journey by allowing shoppers to smell and touch the products and by employing hands-on staff who will explain how the beauty items work.
In order to win back the online shopper, many stores are making the experience as easy as possible by going
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cashless or by using Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology. This uses facial recognition and cameras to monitor the customer’s movements and to provide an efficient shopping experience for those who just want speed.
However, attracting people back in large numbers can only be achieved by making customers feel safe. Retail chiefs also need to boost their profits by maximising the time customers will spend on the shop floor.
The sight of staff members sanitising lift buttons, escalator rails and other frequently-touched surfaces in a shopping centre will help to boost confidence among warier customers. Hand sanitisers should also continue to be provided throughout retail centres.
However, the washrooms play a key role in boosting retail profits because shoppers are more likely to extend their visit to the shops if they know there is a clean loo available if they need one. At the same time, long queues for the washroom will cut down the amount of time customers are able to spend in the shops, and this will have a knock-on effect on profits.
Hand sanitising cannot replace handwashing – particularly when people’s hands are physically dirty. Shoppers need to have access to soap and water, particularly if they are planning on grabbing a coffee or visiting the food court during their stay.
Long queues for the toilets should be avoided because these will cause frustration, prevent social-distancing, and curtail the amount of time customers can spend on the shop floor. Washrooms should therefore be equipped with long-lasting systems that are easy to use and that reduce the risk of product run-outs.
A toilet paper dispenser such as the Tork SmartOne is a good option because the paper is delivered via a nozzle at the front of the unit. The paper is clearly visible and there is no need for the visitor to reach inside the dispenser, which is fiddly and time-consuming while also representing a hygiene risk. This system also helps to avoid run-outs because paper is delivered one sheet at a time, reducing consumption by up to 40% (compared to a traditional maxi jumbo dispenser).
Tork Foam Soaps also work well because each long-lasting refill contains 2500 shots of soap, compared with around 1000 in most liquid soap systems. The dispenser also requires a particularly low push-force which makes accessing the soap both quick and easy.
Hand dryers take time to dry the hands and can cause logjams and queues, which will make many washroom visitors nervous
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