As pandemic restrictions and lockdowns start to end, many retailers are finding themselves at a crossroads between welcoming customers back inside and keeping their frontline employees safe. Plexiglass shields around registers and signs advising physical distancing are all meant to keep employees safe, but they also reduce interactions with customers. And while some employees feel comfortable returning to work, some retail employees are experiencing anxiety over customer interactions due to the lifting of mask mandates when less than one third of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated.
What Retail Workers’ Attire Communicates to Customers
Research shows that consumers are more likely to trust and engage with formally dressed employees. What does this mean for masks and social distancing?
May 03, 2021
Summary.
The authors’ research found that shoppers were almost twice as likely to interact with a formally dressed employee as one who was informally dressed, believing that the more formally dressed employees had more expertise than their casually dressed peers. This raised their expectations of getting better service. As shoppers return to in-person retail, managers should allow flexibility in their employee dress code to communicate to shoppers which employee is the best to ask for assistance.