When the high street reopens it may well be a very different place – every shop vying for attention to draw customers in, new social distancing regulations to adhere to, a change of face as some stores decide to transition to online-only, competition will be off the scale – so how will your store, boutique or market fair in this ‘new norm’? Can you be confident of the footfall your shop requires to reopen?

We know that retailers often run on a tight budget, with always-too-high rates and staff costs as ever-present expenses that need to be covered by sales revenue. So, when you open those doors you’ll want to invite as many people in as possible, as quickly as possible. Higher footfall means more opportunities for higher sales.

As the country’s lockdown is slowly relaxed there are many factors that will come into play to determine footfall, both along your high street and into your store.

1. Fear. Buyers will be timid. After having been told to isolate from others for months it may make the average shopper nervous to enter an indoor space that is not their home, to interact with shop assistants and for other shoppers to get too close. It may be worth considering whether you should rearrange your furniture and displays to give people more confidence that they will be able to social distance inside, or to place more of your products outside to encourage more sales. If you are looking to attract people to stop and buy from your outdoor displays then your frontage needs to be as clean as you’d imagine the inside of your store should be.
2. Hygiene. People’s perception of your commitment to hygiene will be a major factor in giving a nervous shopper the confidence to pop into your store to make a purchase. If your frontage looks grimy, then the impression this will give to customers is that you don’t care enough about the cleanliness of your store and they may well think that this will translate to how safe they will or will not be inside your shop.
3. Impression. Moving away from the fear factor, first impressions count, and with hundreds of hungry retailers on your high street, you can be sure that every one of them will be doing their utmost to attract in the customers that may well be the lifeline their businesses need. So, you must do your best to give the right impression for your store, to make it look like the sort of place where people would like to shop, would want to be seen in. The cleanliness of your frontage – window, signage and cladding – will go a long way to helping you convey the right first impression.
4. Maintenance. Regular cleaning of your windows and frontage can prolong their life and protect the exterior of your property from degrading which would make your shop look shabby and put people off from coming in.

With your store having been closed for weeks, it may desperately need a clean and with so many other things for you to prepare before a reopening, you may need a little help with this.

Make sure that passers-by don’t pass you by, attract in the customers you need, showcase your wares through shiny clean windows and make sure your signage and frontage are spotless to give the right first impression for your store.

If the windows or the exterior of your building need a clean, then contact London Window Cleaners today on 020 3954 2900. 

SOURCES

1. https://prudentialwindowcleaning.co.uk/dont-time-clean-shop-frontage-turning-customers-away/
2. https://prudentialwindowcleaning.co.uk/dirty-shop-sign-say-business/