With life returning to some kind of pre-COVID normality, we are going to have to appreciate that life is undoubtedly changed, and we are going to have to adapt to embrace it. If fact, the more we adapt, the easier it will be to transition to what will be the ‘new normal’.
So, what will this new normal look like for your business? There are two main factors that are likely to be the most prominent changes; social distancing and sneeze shields.
Social distancing. This is likely to be the biggest factor that will influence how we shop and interact socially. Most establishments that rely on customer density to make a living. Supermarkets, eating establishments, and department stores all depend on getting large numbers of people through the door, served and back out in order to maintain a healthy financial situation, but that may not be possible with the need to socially distance and have fewer people in store. The potential answer to this is to apply properly laid out floorspace so that consumers are able to travel through a store in an orderly fashion, but with complete safety. To be able to facilitate this, special signage has to be used to demonstrate what is an acceptable distance to have between people who are not from the same household.
This pandemic has demonstrated that people are unsure as to what a certain distance – such as two metres – actually looks like. People are either too close or too far away; one is dangerous, the other is wasteful on space. Signs help people organise themselves and maintain an acceptable space between themselves. But floor spacing can also be used to identify other aspects to such as:
Ingress/egress points and emergency exit points that still maintain social distancing.
Directional arrows and traffic flow patterns to help customers keep an acceptable distance between each other.
Checkout areas become clearly defined so that waiting customers don’t inadvertently wander into areas already occupied by paying shoppers.
Social distancing floor signs can make life easy for consumers by indicating exactly where they should be standing at all times and reducing the risk of infection.
Sneeze Shields. Polycarbonate or Acrylic guards that prevent the spread of the virus by literally blocking a path between people who cannot necessarily socially isolate, such as in shops and at pay points. Sneeze screens have been developed so that they are easy to fit and are almost 100% effective. Sneeze screens with letter-box openings that allow the passing of goods and money are likely to become a major factor in all types of businesses, and will be familiar to al of use within a very short time.
xsign now offer a range of social distancing signs and sneeze shields that are designed to make your business a safer place to operate. The use of these kinds of safeguards are the only way that many shops and industries can return to some kind or normality and maintain a business. And as consumers, we need to be able to go out and buy things, and enjoy entertainment while still feeling safe.
Browse our range of Safety Signs to see how your business can maintain social distancing and keep employees and customers safe.
