The 7 Most Effective Features In a Social Distancing Software

Posted by admin Feb 10, 2022

Every business has its own set of ups and downs. On the other hand, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed every industry to its limits. However, no enterprise has been affected as retail. 

Earlier, the lockdown measures resulted in the shutting down of all brick-and-mortar stores. But, after the successful vaccination drive, shops have started to reopen with a new set of challenges. Some common hassles include crowded stores and chances of shutdown owing to increased positive cases. Thus, making it difficult for the businesses to survive because of safe distancing policies and quarantine rules.

As a result, businesses now need to ensure that people follow the specific social distancing rules in the stores. In simple terms, organizations need to adapt innovation. It will help to focus customer safety and adhere to norms while maintaining business operations. Thus, the social distancing queue system comes as the best solution of all.  

Embracing Technology Against COVID-19 Pandemic

The research says that 62% of customers prefer brick-and-mortar stores with already adhering to the social distancing policy when they visit the premises. The good thing is several businesses have already begun to use retail social distancing software. Some companies have shifted to contactless engagement techniques to provide a better digital customer experience.

Social Distancing Queue System Features for Retail

Dealing wait lines was already hectic for the businesses. Now, with the COVID-19, handling crowded stores has become more challenging. Public safety has become the main concern of all. Here, we will discuss about how the social distancing queue system can manage the long lineups. Thus, helping to maintain safe distancing in the retail shops. 

Customer Counting

The people counting feature is the significant solution for any retail store entrance. It helps to track the number of individuals entering and exiting via a single gate. Getting such information in real-time helps in limiting the customer inflow. It also alerts the customers when it would be possible to serve them while maintaining the social distance norms. 

Digital Displays to Showcase Real-Time Data

There are peak times when the number of customers in-store increases. Such situations become quite difficult to handle. Adhering to strict social distancing norms also seem quite challenging. 

Notifying the newly coming customers about the wait and already occupied space in the store comes the necessity. Place an information panel that displays how many customers are presently shopping with the brand in person. Also, use the warning signs to notify the customer either to wait or enter the store while following social distance. 

The business apps or websites can be updated with the information in real-time. It will keep the shoppers informed and make them visit the store only when it is less crowded. 

Live Updates and Notifications

Of course, store occupancy must be set to match with social distancing norms. If the customer inflow exceeds the set limit, the staff should be informed right away. Real-time notifications must be sent so staff can prepare with proper precautions on time. 

Besides, staff must get the notifications automatically, when the store occupancy starts to cross the set limits. This will help employees keep a check on safety precautions and control the customer inflow. 

Appointment Scheduling Solution

One biggest challenge that retailers are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic is restricting the number of people counted at a specific time. Many retailers have already implemented shopper limits to deal with crowd sizes.

Hence, the best way to handle it all is to integrate retail social distancing software with the appointment scheduling feature. Customers can arrange appointments online over the phone or by SMS and come to the store when it’s their turn.

The staff can prepare and leverage content to keep the customer notified on the website. Additionally, social media platforms are great to provide updates on inventory and more. Furthermore, all of this will help customers come prepared with what they are expecting at the time of their turn. 

Efficient Staff Allocation

It is essential to organize staff and schedule their shifts according to consumer inflow and peak hours. During the pandemic, employee health and business efficiency must be the priority. 

Besides, keeping a track of changing customer behavior is also vital. This will help to better understand the store’s peak hours and plan personnel shifts accordingly.

It is hard to imagine a store without staff. Hence, it is necessary to assess everything from consumer changing shopping patterns to employee shifts. This will better assist in ensuring that employees do not need to waste their time waiting in the store. 

Self-Service Checkout

Several companies switched to self-service checkout even before the COVID-19 evolved. Now, the focus should be on following the social distancing measures. Self-service checkouts prevent the manual hassles of making the transactions. Also, the customers can use their mobile devices to find answers to their queries. 

Contactless services are shown to be safer and more efficient in this way.

To operate touchscreens, retailers can provide protective gloves. As a result, the risks of virus spread will be reduced. Additionally, gesture-based or text-to-speech technology can help you avoid making contact while waiting in line.

Furthermore, installing kiosks at the self-service terminals helps streamline the queue management. This will reduce the hassles of visitors looking to the shop. After all, it is the main concern of all stores. Thus, forcing people to wait for long and not following the social distancing norms. 

Estimate Upcoming Customer Inflow and Availability

The social distancing that comes with the analytics feature is just amazing. Of course, having up-to-date information helps to predict peak hours, the number of people in queues, and more. Thus, assisting the staff to work. 

It becomes helpful to put in place the right measures at the right time to maintain safe distancing. For example, if the customer count is high, the social distancing maintenance will require more focus. Here, social distancing software can come beneficial. It can help gather all the historical data, learn about trends, and give advise accordingly. As a result , workflow will improve. 

Such a software can generate live data that will ease the staffing and prevent customer annoyance. Also, it will help customers plan their visits and employees prevent crowded queues. 

You can also invest in a retail queue system. It will help to collect customer feedback to understand how well the store is following the safe distancing norms. Moreover, what are the necessary improvements.  

Summing Up

To conclude, the COVID-19 crisis influenced the growth of the retail industry. All the small enterprises to large businesses require virtual queuing with social distancing measures. After all, it has become a necessity to safely serve the customers. 

Mobile devices also play a vital role in performing several functions. It include everything from monitoring queue status to appointment notifications, service delay alerts, and much more. 

Adapting to these measures is essential for business success. After all, social distancing is here to stay for long.

So, the retailers need to begin preparing to reopen, prioritize the safety, and hygiene of customers and staff. Also, it is vital to prioritize a healthy environment. 

You can also consider the queue management system offered by Awebstar. It comes with exceptional features to effectively handle traffic and provide calming queue measures. Besides, it comes with communication features to remotely deliver vital information to the customers in such tough times. Read our blog to know more about how the queue management system helps in complying with social distancing.