Keeping in-store customers safe

keeping

in-store customers safe

The past couple of years have been pivotal for retailers. Although the technology now being installed into retail environments, existed long before COVID-19, the swift implementation of innovative tools and systems will be essential for the retail industry recovering. Retailers will be expected to provide an omnichannel shopping experience and mimic the convenient shopping experience online, in-store.

If consumers want a simple transaction, most will turn to the online store. Therefore, physical shops must offer something more. It is now an opportunity to reshape the shopping experience by building connections, establishing brand presence and utilising the physical senses.

How will technology keep consumers safe in-store?

Firstly, consumers value safety. Although many retailers used floor stickers and social distancing posters at the height of the pandemic, digital signage can be used more effectively to convey engaging safety information as well as product spotlights that can be changed in real-time. It can also incorporate temperature sensors and facial recognition to keep consumers and staff safe. Consumers are likely to be wary of queues and busy stores. To combat this, technology such as the BlueFox PeopleCount analyses footfall and delivers real-time data on a display to alert consumers.

Technology like QR codes and AR have stepped up to the plate during the pandemic, to keep customers safe. Cosmetic store Lush, for example, created the Lush Lens app, allowing consumers to scan a QR code of a product for more information, rather than touching an iLFD. Similarly, ASOS used augmented reality (AR) to digitally fit models with new clothes.

Say the word "interactive" and most of us think of BrightSign. But interactivity through gesture, motion sensors and personal devices has been around for some time. The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the development and adoption of these technologies as communal touch points have raised health concerns. BrightSign has developed a range of touchless solutions ideal for retail — for shopping and ordering on your smartphone, eliminating the need to touch displays.