I’ve been thinking about the changes we made in our businesses during the peak of the Covid challenge and, in particular, what is likely to stay with us.
- Cleaning. Daily surface cleaning of the counter, front door and other places people are likely to touch, with an anti-bacterial wipe at least daily is good for shoppers as well as those working the the business.
- Hand washing. I think there is value in reminding staff to do this. A key benefit will be their own health.
- Hand sanitiser. Keeping pump packs of this at the counter for staff and for customers its good practice, especially if you take cash. The best way to see if this is a good move is whether customers use it. I suspect they will.
- Airflow. We have learned through the year that good airflow is important. Improving this could be a good move.
- People flow. making ti easy for people to move around the shop was important through Covid and is good for retail more broadly.
- Making shopping easy. Having experienced easy shopping of packs, click and collect, home delivery and all the other approached used through Covid, some customers will be keen for these to continue.
If you can find the time, think about what you did through Covid that you may continue with as part of usual operation on the other side.
I think we have learnt plenty that can benefit us and our customers post-pandemic.