Trying to run a business during the pandemic is tough, especially when you’re a traditional brick-and-mortar store. We know that at the start of the pandemic, the retail industry and the food industry became one of the most affected by the virus —especially physical retailers. A lot of people were feeling concerned about the future of these industries, as we all know how big a part they play in supporting the country’s economy. The supply chain was affected, plenty of people were avoiding malls, and tons of businesses had to close down.
Today, almost ten months have passed since the pandemic started, and people are trying to go back to normal. Things aren’t the same as it used to be, and it might stay that way for a long time. However, new guidelines have been passed for America to get back to business. Malls, restaurants, small businesses, and gyms are opening up again. But, of course, each state has set a couple of precautions and strict rules to be followed.
Since stores are back in business — with a few new ones opening up — technology is playing a big part in allowing this to happen. If you’re planning to open or re-open your store during the “new normal,” make sure that you have these x essential technologies in your store:
1. Point of Sale Systems
Point of Sale Systems, or P.O.S. Systems for short, are machines that allow you to process credit card and debit card payments. Not only that, but it also allows you to accept digital payments through mobile devices. Another great thing about these machines is that it not only acts as a cash register, but it also tracks your sales and your stocks. Every store needs this and for good reasons.
Cash is no longer king. With the advancements of technology today, you could even say a card isn’t king either. These days, people are starting to use digital payments through mobile devices more often. Not to mention, using this machine is also much safer than transacting with cash. Cash can be a carrier of the virus, and it’s not easy to disinfect cash. At least with a machine, you can easily spray and wipe it down after every transaction.
2. Temperature Screening Kiosk
We all know that one of the symptoms of COVID-19 is having an extremely high temperature. To ensure your employees’ and your customers’ safety, you need to have a temperature screening kiosk placed at your store entrance. This is a 100% no-contact temperature reading device. Your customers and employees will only have to stand in front of the device and wait for one to two seconds to detect their temperature before they can come into the store. It even has a feature that allows itself to recognize over 60,000 faces, making contact tracing a much easier job.
3. Automatic Hand Sanitizer Dispenser
It is part of the CDC’s guidelines to have touchless sanitizing stations in multiple areas in a store to promote hygiene. Some stores only practice leaving spray bottles of alcohol for the public to use. But what’s the point if they have to keep on touching it, again and again, person after person? Having an automatic hand sanitizer dispenser is the solution to this issue.
4. Contact Tracing Software
Make contact tracing easier by installing contact tracing software for your store. This is a much more convenient and safer way to do contact tracing than the traditional pen and paper. Creating an online contact tracing form is extremely easy to do. There is plenty of free online software, such as Brisktable, that allows you to create an online check-in form, a QR code for your store, and allows you to upload the records directly to government services.
5. E-commerce
Although stores and malls are opening up again, some people would still prefer to buy their items from the internet. If you want to keep up with the competition and keep your business alive. You should also try selling your products online.
2020 has been a difficult year. We are faced with many challenges, a pandemic being one of them. But of course, a business must go on for the sake of the economy. It may be a long time before we recover from this COVID-19 pandemic, but we can’t sit around and wait forever. What we can do is adapt to this new normal. Take the proper precautions and follow the rules and guidelines provided by each state and the CDC. That’s the only way we can keep business going nowadays.
