How to make customers feel comfortable shopping in your store again
Retailers reopening their stores are faced with a variety of new protocols to protect public health—from social distancing to reducing store hours to requiring staff to wear face masks.
How your state or region responds to the COVID-19—and what regulations are in place—depends on your location. But as you reopen, here are 4 suggestions on how to help your customers feel safe.
Implement contactless payment systems
The pandemic is propelling a shift toward a cashless society in unprecedented ways, where governments all over the world are promoting cashless payments to protect populations from spreading COVID-19.
Not having to touch a device for payment reduces stress and worry for customers. Instead, using a customer-facing terminal, contactless payments, such as Google or Apple Pay, where receipt and signature prompts can be disabled— is the new way to go.
Offer reward programs
By implementing a customer management and loyalty software from Vend, a cloud-based, point-of-sale and retail management solution, you could easily start a reward program and offer gift cards. This is a great way to inform your customers about discounts, sales or bonuses by sending them emails based on their consumer habits.
Get a portable scanner
Consider investing in an inventory scanner app in order to protect your staff (and also your customers) from having to handle more items than necessary in your store. With Vend's Scanner app, your iOS device is transformed into a portable barcode scanner. If you’re already a Vend customer, your scanner can populate product information while items are scanned.
Let your customers know about safety measures
Make sure customers know that you take safety measures—and their health—seriously. Place signage about social distancing, wearing masks, and limits on the number of people in the store in visible locations. Encourage or require employees and customers to wear approved facial coverings, gloves, and personal protective equipment (PPE) at all times. Be sure to offer complimentary face masks to customers who enter the store without one, and place a bottle of hand sanitizer at the store’s entrance and exit. If you have an email list or social media channels, let your customers know all you’re doing to keep them safe.
Ultimately, your efforts will go a long way in making customers comfortable, helping to keep them healthy, and encouraging them to return to your store.
Learn how Sekure can help your business. Visit our COVID-19 Merchant Resources page to help you stay open and #StaySekure.
