Customer Service

Optimizing retail shopping experiences for safe, healthy holidays

It's crunch time for retailers preparing for the holidays and it's time to create the best shopping experience by keeping staff and customers safe and healthy.

Photo by istock.com

September 7, 2022 | Jaime Bettencourt

If nothing else, the Summer of 2022 was freeing post-pandemic as people got back to travel, dining, events and shopping full force — but will that freedom to explore and experience continue into the busy holiday season when COVID variants are already foreshadowing what might come this fall?

Heading into the final few months and, more important, the critical shopping season, now is crunch time for retailers preparing for the holidays. And with that preparation, you need to think about steps to take to create the best shopping experience by keeping your staff and customers safe and healthy.

Retailers can take several steps to protect customers and associates while still encouraging foot traffic during a crucial time.

Build trust now

It's amazing how quickly we forget what it was like to shop during the pandemic — reduced store hours, bare shelves, curbside pickup, six-foot social distancing, hand sanitizer stations at the ready, and masks, masks, masks. It's possible that we may need to re-institute some of these precautions again amid the holiday cheer, which may make it more challenging or shoppers to venture very far from home. However, regardless of what the holidays dictate for public health, to encourage shoppers to make the effort to shop in-store, now is the time to invest in getting to know your customers. Then, come this fall, they have a sense of trust, comfort and familiarity and understand how you're looking out for them even before they set foot in your store.

To help build trust and familiarity, retailers can take several steps:

Personalize your brand by profiling product, customer or associate stories.
Share how your store invests in or gives back to the community.
Educate your customers on why your product, price and availability set you apart this season.
Be authentic to your brand and communicate your brand values.
Speaking of value, build some into the customer journey to build affinity (i.e., where would customers get the biggest bang for their buck?).
Ensure you anticipate inventory needs to avoid disappointment.
Reward your customers for their loyalty.
Give them a better shopping experience to ensure you're at the top of their shopping list this year.

Use technology to your advantage

If history is any guide, we should be better prepared to address future health and safety challenges. So what did we learn? For one thing, we can use more connected technology to our advantage. For example, in-store audio and digital signs can help shoppers effectively navigate the floor and find what they need, while kiosks and mobile apps can help them self service so they can be efficient in their discovery and purchase journey. From automation to improved communication, technology can help your customers get a more personalized, streamlined experience.

When it comes to staff knowledge and safety, technology is just as important. Retailers can leverage back-of-house visual CMS platforms to update their workers from a corporate, regional or store level in real time.

This key communications channel can serve multiple purposes:

Motivate with current promotions, incentives and company goals.
Educate on product, customer trends, brand initiatives and standards.
Inspire with employee success stories and ideas on how to service customers.
Highlight focused inventory changes.
Share tips on safety and cleanliness standards to keep everyone safe during high-traffic times.
Empower to feel connected to the greater brand and how they help accomplish the company goals.
Provide a connected community within the store.
Shared leadership messages on demand.

Be strategic

Finally, it helps to take a step back and examine all the touch points you have with your customers. From examining the store layout and footprint to how you display merchandise to the transaction at the point of sale, review the process from start to finish so you can give your shoppers the safest, most enjoyable experience possible.

Once you've finished this review, it's time to put your plan into action:

Brag-vertise to your customers that you take the health and safety of everyone in your store seriously by sharing the safety steps and protocols you put in place.
Cut down on the clutter and keep displays tidy and stocked so they don't look picked over.
Ensure you have distinct foot pathways, where possible, for shopping, purchasing and returns.
Stay on top of cleaning high-touch surfaces such as doors, self-service areas and countertops.

Your customers and employees will thank you for all of the proactive planning and preparation you can do now to minimize potential exposure, reduce stress and help everyone enjoy the holidays.

Jaime Bettencourt, is senior VP, North America, account management, at Mood Media