Now that the season is singing “Deck the Halls,” it’s time to get your store ready. According to Small Business Trends, consumers can spend at least a thousand dollars. That’s 4% higher than last year.
Besides discounts and inventory, though, you also need to prep your physical space. Make sure it is spotless. Cleanliness, after all, matters to buyers.
How Consumers See Cleanliness
Now is the best time to book for janitorial services in Kansas City. Companies like MC Janitorial can supply you with an on-site in-house team of cleaners. The crew these days can clean your space inside out. They usually use UV light, for instance, to kill bacteria and prevent mold growth.
It can be additional spending for your business, but it also offers excellent rewards. Consumers consider hygiene as one of the factors in choosing a store. In a survey by M/A/R/C Research, 29% said they’d visit a dirty store only when it’s necessary. Around 14%, meanwhile, confessed they’d skip the shop next time if it’s not clean.
Retail News Insider once reported that 93% of customers would switch to a competitor. They, however, are willing to give the store another chance. That is if they improve their space’s cleanliness.
Why Cleanliness Is Next to Godliness
The psychology of cleanliness is one of the well-studied subjects. It explains why a neat, organized, and dirt-free space is appealing to many. That includes your customers.
First, people tend to associate cleanliness with health. For example, some can view black spots as a mold. Also, in an Indiana University study, people who lived in clean houses were somehow healthier than those who lived in cluttered spaces.
Stacking products properly on shelves can also affect the brain in a good way. It turns out that clutter can overwhelm the visual cortex. When this happens, a person’s mind struggles to process on one task. It then leads to mental fatigue. This feeling wears out the consumer or pushes them to make bad buying decisions.
A real clean space also helps improve the health and well-being of both the employees and the consumers. Winter usually ushers many types of diseases. One of these is the flu, which can peak until May the following year. The viruses that cause it can remain infectious on hard surfaces for 24 hours!
The flu virus is not only highly contagious but also dangerous for certain people. These include children, older adults, and those with weak immunity. Many die from the illness each year. The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) estimated the number of 56,000 people.
Workers sick with flu can have to stay at home for three to seven days. If you’re a small business, that can hurt your productivity significantly. You can hire seasonal employees, but they can be hard to come by.
For many retailers, especially for small ones, holiday sales can comprise a bulk of their yearly revenue. You cannot afford to have one sick person on your team. You can always clean your store anytime this season. But just because something appears clean doesn’t mean it is. Get rid of those microbes as well. Have a professional help you.