NEW YORK—Retailers have faced many challenges over the past decade, not the least of which has been retaining loyalty in the face of changing consumer habits. Right there at the top of list, also, is the rise of e-cCommerce, which created a new battleground for bricks and mortar retailers who were no longer simply competing with one another, but also the comfort and convenience of shopping from home.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020 and many countries went into lockdown. As these measures began to lift and stores reopened, shoppers returning to physical locations have been met with a vastly different experience in order to meet government guidelines and to stop the spread of infection. This has now become the “new normal” for stores large and small and it isn’t going to change any time soon.

To better understand attitudes about in-store safety, Cennox worked with research house Vitreous World and polled 2,000 consumers. The results provide retailers with unique insight into the trends that are affecting consumer decision making during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Among the key findings of the study are:

  • Baskets and shopping carts (66 percent) are considered the most high-risk area for the spread of COVID-19, followed by the checkout (51%) and aisles (49 percent).

  • 50 percent of shoppers believe cleaning solutions such as anti-bacterial wipes or bleach immediately kill traces of COVID-19.

  • Almost two thirds (63 percent) of shoppers are concerned about the spread of COVID-19 at the point of sale, highlighting the concerns that customers have when visiting this particular part of the store.
  • Just 38 percent of shoppers trust staff to correctly disinfect payment terminals after every use.
  • Three-quarters (75 percent) of shoppers have increased the use of contactless payments in order to avoid having to touch surfaces.