The New Normal retail landscape sees customers favouring online transactions, and spending less time browsing when they choose to shop in person. And you’ve responded. You’re selling via your website and social media channels and offering customers safe delivery and pick-up options. What more can you do to reduce health and safety concerns, and entice customers to visit your retail store?Make every visitor comfortable

• Assign a greeter to welcome customers at the door, answer questions and prevent overcrowding

• Let the customer see your team maintaining cleaning protocols in store

• Accept contactless payments

• Invite customers to receive digital receipts; consider an email marketing tool that captures consent so you can recontact these customers without going astray of privacy laws

• Promote your new policies in store and on all your digital channels, i.e. website, social media, email newsletters, Yellow Pages listing, and Google My Business profile

Deliver products or services differently

• Allow customers to shop by appointment (by phone or online scheduling tools)

• Enable staff to bring products to customers on demand

• Adopt an in-home try-on policy, if applicable

• Create new offerings that emphasize convenience while limiting shopping trips and interactions, i.e. subscription products or virtual consultations

Rethink your store’s purpose

• Consider your store as a showroom for your online activities and remerchandise accordingly

• Adjust the ratio of storefront-to-warehouse space to support online fulfillment demands

• Create an in-store call centre to provide live customer service

Open your store, and thinking, to customer-driven enhancements that will add comfort, and value, to your brick-and-mortar shopping experience.