Consumer habits have radically changed in a short period of time. To respond to the new demands, shopping habits, and buying patterns, retailers have had to adapt to new processes quickly.
Consumers that previously relied on in-store shopping are making more and more of their sales through curbside pickup, touchless delivery, or having customers pre-purchase products online and pick them up in-store. These changes not only apply to retail of all sizes, but restaurants have had to pivot to emphasize, takeout, first and third-party delivery options.
While some of these changes were temporary, lower-contact sales processes are creating safer and more efficient experiences for customers and retailers alike and have been identified as long-term viable solutions for many businesses.
Online order fulfillment is becoming more and more normal, and organizations will need to adapt their existing procedures, and buildings, to support these new retail standards.
Maintain Efficiency with Your Updated Workflow
With more customers opting for curbside delivery or quick pickup service, there will be increased car traffic around your business. When adapting your processes for a higher volume of pickup and delivery sales, you will need to evaluate how to keep a steady flow of customers moving to the correct places to collect their goods and quickly exit without causing a traffic jam.
Other businesses have found effective solutions to this problem. Both McDonalds and Target have developed drive-through and curbside pickup areas that are clearly marked, well organized and allow customers to quickly move in and out. Even Amazon warehouses have created effective solutions to manage increased delivery truck traffic.
[Read also: 5 Important Tasks for Reopening Buildings During COVID-19]
These businesses use building markings, traffic controls and parking lot striping to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of their curbside processes.
2 Best Practices for Your Business
1. Building Markings
To avoid customer confusion, back-ups and traffic jams, you need to clearly identify where the designated pickup areas are on your building. Whether you use signage, exterior building markings, alternating curb colors, or a combination of these techniques, the customer should be able to tell where they are supposed to go by a quick glance at their surroundings.
2. Traffic Controls and Parking Lot Striping
With cars coming in and out of the parking lot more rapidly than usual, you will need to account for current traffic patterns and parking lot markings to help customers adapt to your new procedures.
There need to be areas for both in-store customers and pickup-only customers to go in and out of the store and parking lot without excess confusion or a bad shopping experience. You can manage the flow of traffic by clearly designating spaces for different types of shoppers on the curb or in the parking lot and using parking lot striping to direct traffic to correct spots.
A Professional Coatings Contractor can Help with Workflow
If you aren’t sure where to get started or want some extra help to develop and implement your new processes, contact a professional coatings contractor. A professional coatings contractor can help you develop a traffic flow, determine where to place your markings and signage, and take care of the execution.
About the Author:
David Shively is a Senior Project Manager at A&K Painting Company. David has over 6 years of coatings experience in the commercial and industrial sectors. This is a contributed article.
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