How Product-Facing Retail Displays Encourage Social Distancing in Stores

According to a recent survey, 60% of customers reported experiencing anxiety in stores due to conditions surrounding COVID-19 precautions, specifically pertaining to whether retailers were able to ensure the risk of infection was sufficiently minimized within their stores.

In the interest of containing the virus and restoring consumer confidence, it is in the best interest of retailers to implement effective social distancing measures to reduce human contact and the possibility of the transfer of germs.

While many retailers have already adopted crowd control and PPE into their stores, one potentially overlooked area is the manual labor associated with stocking retail shelves within a store. Supply chains are stressed and essential items are in high demand. Retailers are already using overnight downtime to restock merchandise and sterilize shelves in a departure from their typical 24/7 shopping policies pre-COVID-19. The CDC has recognized that hands come into contact with several surfaces throughout the day, which could result in viral transmission, as studies suggest that SARS-CoV-2 can remain on surfaces for up to three days.

Maintaining an organized display area is essential for customers to locate the items they need quickly and build back their confidence in retailers. But is the periodic upkeep of these shelves worth the risk? Relying on store associates to organize and face merchandise throughout the day drastically increases the number of people coming into contact with store items and increases the chances of spreading infection.

Product-facing retail displays could be a crucial solution to this problem. They come in a variety of forms and can be integrated into almost any area of retail. Instead of waiting for store associates to organize product, product-facing retail displays rely on gravity-fed or spring-fed pushers to automatically bring product toward the front of the shelf as each item is shopped—no need for store associate interaction. Plus, having more organized merchandise reduces shoppers' inclination to touch products they do not intend to buy.

The current reality is that consumers are hesitant to buy in-store. And if store aisles are crowded with stockers or shelves are disorganized, they may choose to shop elsewhere entirely. To learn more about product-facing retail displays and other product-facing solutions, visit saffron.com/product-facing.