The retail industry has been badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Even those stores with the biggest online offerings reported a significant decline in sales due to the coronavirus crisis. Now different countries are planning to reopen retail businesses in a socially distanced world. Now is the time for retail owners to find out how to keep customers and workers safe and healthy while following safety measures, government guidelines and employment laws.
If you are going to reopen your retail stores soon, here are some guidelines and safety procedures that store owners, operators and other staff should incorporate into their facility protocols to protect themselves from the fatal virus.
Place Personal Hygiene Reminders Everywhere
Once the local and state government allows you to reopen your store, it is important to share all the precautionary guidelines with your employees prior to the reopening of the store. To keep your retail shop’s staff and customers safe and healthy, it is advised to place different safety posters and hygiene reminders on your retail shop to promote handwashing and respiratory hygiene. These reminders will alert workers and customers of any signs and symptoms of acute respiratory illnesses. Keep alcohol-based sanitizers and tissues at strategic places throughout your store to ensure a germ-free environment and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The ultimate goal to place posters at different places is to encourage employees and customers to wash their hands, minimize unnecessary touching of your eyes, nose and mouth. Make sure to cover your sneeze and cough with a tissue or with the corner of your elbow. Encourage people to don’t go outside if they are sick or experiencing symptoms of flu, cough, sneezing, shortness of breath, fever and more. Don’t forget to stock your washrooms with soaps, paper towels and hand dryers. Also, set up sanitizing stations at prominent locations of your store as part of standard infection control practice.
Keep a Safe Distance
When it comes to reopening your retail store, make sure your staff and customers both practice social distancing and staying at least six feet apart from one another. However, the situation can be challenging if your retail shop is too small and too many customers want to hop inside. It is your staff’s responsibility to maintain a safe distance among your customers.
The best way to follow social distancing measures is to place a notice on your entrance door so that your customers will know the rules of your store. It is also a sensible decision to limit the number of customers allowed in your store at a time. Make sure the people waiting outside the store should maintain a proper distance. You can mark the space with tape to ensure people are keeping a standard distance between them. Furthermore, reducing the operational hours is another great idea to reduce the chances of spreading infection.
Avail Cleaning and Disinfecting Facilities
You can contact a facility management company for cleaning and sanitizing before reopening your retail store. Ask your cleaning staff and employees to clean the high touch surfaces thoroughly and repeatedly. Make sure to clean and sanitize keyboards, computer tables, mouse, payment tops, phones, doorknobs, elevator buttons to reduce the chances of infection.
Embrace Digital Payment Method
One of the best ways to combat the COVID-19 pandemic is to use contactless and digital payment methods, which are more secure and require less physical interaction. Many retail shops have started embracing digital wallets and contactless payment options during the coronavirus outbreak. The reluctance to accept cash is mainly due to a concern about its potential to transmit disease. Even card terminals are also rejected by many consumers and retail shop owners, as it is also a major cause of spreading COVID-19.
This is why contactless card payment method is widely accepted by a majority of consumers and retailers as it requires no physical contact with the payment terminal. This tap-and-pay solution gives customers more peace of mind while making their purchases with their mobile wallets. It ensures they don’t come into contact with surfaces that could be contaminated with COVID-19.
Another reason for choosing this payment method over cash is that the contactless payment option is one of the safest and secure ways to pay for orders. Its advanced technology of EMV chip prevents data breaches and makes it impossible for hackers to counterfeit cards and take advantage of what they steal. Contactless payments require biometric authentication such as a fingerprint, face scan, or PIN, which makes it a secure way to conduct payment transactions. Furthermore, contactless payments rely on an advanced technology of tokenization, which makes sure every transaction is secure and on time.
Over to You
By following CDC guidelines for handwashing, practicing social distancing, personal hygiene and improved cleaning, you can help keep your staff and customers safe and healthy. You can safely reopen the store by following all the safety guidelines and precautionary measures to ensure the safety of your employees and customers while providing an exceptional customer experience.
