Driving Foot Traffic To Your Retail Store In A Post-Covid World
The business world has changed so much due to the coronavirus pandemic, but retail businesses have been hit the hardest. Although many have moved online, you must think about how to proceed when things return to normal and you can open your store again.
Driving foot traffic to a retail store is hard enough, but things will be even more difficult in the wake of a pandemic. The danger won’t disappear overnight, and many people have adjusted to the new way of doing things, so they will be less inclined to shop in person. However, there are techniques you can use to encourage people to visit your store. These are some of the best ways to drive foot traffic to your retail business in a post-COVID world.
Make Sure It’s Safe
Safety should be your key concern when opening your store again. You have a responsibility to keep your employees and customers safe at all times, and if you don’t put the proper measures in place, people will not feel comfortable stepping inside your store. Ensure that you are following all of the latest guidelines about safety, and, where possible, you go above and beyond to reduce the risk to everybody in the store. When people see that you prioritize their safety, they will feel more comfortable shopping inside.
Give The Store A New Look
People have been unable to go out and do things for a long time and when things start opening again, they’ll be desperate for something new and exciting. If you present people with the same old store that they visited last time, you won’t generate that much excitement, so you should give it a new look. It’s likely that you will need to rearrange the layout to keep it safe anyway, so why not lean into it and give the complete store an overhaul? Call in some commercial painters to freshen the place up and change up your window displays to keep things interesting. You don’t necessarily need to rebrand the business, but you should do something different if you want to draw people in.
Since your store has been vacant for a while, a fresh coat of paint will make it feel alive again, but you should also look at the fixtures you have in store like your checkout countertop and shelving. If they have seen better days and you want to really experiment with a new look, don't just stop at painting, take a look at what store fixture equipment you may need and use it to your advantage.
Create Offers And Discounts
Offers and discounts are often the best way to make your business stand out and encourage people to choose you over your competitors. Every retail business on the high street will be desperate to get people through the door, and you’re more likely to catch people’s attention if you offer a significant discount. It would be best if you started by creating an email marketing campaign and contacting existing customers with discount codes to use in-store. That way, you can make a bit of a buzz on opening day, and you should hopefully have a queue outside the door.
Last year has been challenging for retail businesses, but things are starting to look more positive. When you open your doors again, try these techniques to drive more traffic to your store.
