How Clothing Stores Are Implementing Safer Social Distancing

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The COVID-19 pandemic has created numerous hurdles for retailers and small businesses all over the world. Some types of companies have received a lot of publicity for their proposed social distancing measures. You can probably find hundreds of articles on changes that had to be instituted by restaurants, such as a shift towards takeout and outdoor dining. 

However, some businesses have not received as much attention for their social distancing policies. Clothing retailers are a prime example. Although you won’t find as many articles on the COVID-19 response by clothing stores, they have been forced to make some rather drastic changes just like every other business. 

Target is one of the companies that has started doing more to ensure social distancing. Here are some of the essential social distancing and sanitation policies that clothing companies have begun to embrace to deal with the coronavirus crisis. 

The Capacity of Fitting Rooms Needs to be Minimized 

One of the most common ways for people to come into contact with each other in a clothing store is when they have to pass each other in the fitting rooms. Clothing stores have found that this has to be a target to enforce their social distancing measures. This can be important when lots of customers are looking for fashionable new clothes, such as the latest style of Nudie Jeans. 

One way that clothing stores are implementing social distancing is by closing every other fitting room and only allowing 50% capacity. They can even use social distancing stickers to keep customers apart. They also might have employees keep track of people going in and out, so they can ensure customers are not likely to pass each other at the doorway. Some fitting rooms have two separate entrances to the cubical sections. Clothing stores might need to set them up so that customers can only use one of them as the entrance and the other for the exit, so traffic goes in one direction to avoid customers coming into contact. 

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Have Attendants Get Clothes for Customers in More Confined Areas 

Smaller stores might face a more significant challenge than their larger counterparts. This is particularly challenging for stores selling specialty clothes like woodworking outfits. If clothes are kept in a more confined area, then there is a higher risk of customers breaching social distancing. 

In these situations, store employees might need to be more proactive in keeping customers socially distanced. One way that they might do this is by asking customers to tell them what clothes they need. The attendant can get the clothes and drop them off at the customer’s car or a designated place in the store, so the customers won’t have to worry about coming into contact with each other. 

Offering Curbside Pick-Up 

Curbside pick-up is not a service that is regularly offered by clothing stores. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it more appealing to many of them. 

Mobile technology makes it easier for customers to place orders for any product online. There is no reason that clothing companies cannot use this technology in their business models.

Rotating Clothes That Have Been Tried on Back into the Inventory Room 

One of the biggest challenges clothing retailers face with COVID-19 is deciding what to do with clothes after customers have tried them on. Recent research has shown that the risk of exposure through contact with droplets on surfaces is minimal. However, it is not nonexistent. There is still a possibility that customers will get COVID-19 after handling clothes that another customer has tried on. 

It is not practical for companies to wipe down clothes after they are used. Washing them is not an option either, because customers don’t want to buy new clothes that have been cleaned already. 

The easiest way to deal with this risk is by bringing clothes that have been tried on back into the inventory room for a couple of days. The virus has a short lifespan, so it should die by then.