Holiday Sanitation - Keeping Retail Spaces Clean

For shoppers, the holiday season is exciting–the festive décor, the incredible sales on desirable gifts, and the cheer of giving. However, that hype usually isn’t there for retail store employees.

Between 20-30 percent of annual retail sales are done during the holiday season. The high traffic of shoppers not only makes for a busier and more exhausting day, but for a messier, more cluttered, dirtier environment. The upkeep is now not only a job for after-hours cleaning crews, but a constant job for employees during operating hours.

As the holidays approach, it’s time to face the (Christmas) music by keeping the store clean, and therefore, the customers happy. Here are some tips to stay on top of the mess this holiday season:

1. Assign an employee to each entrance of the store to make sure the floors are clean and dry. When the parking lot is full of snow, slush and salt, it doesn’t take long before your retail space is too. In addition to these assigned employees, make sure all employees have paper towels available for spot cleaning in aisles. Since the floor will not only be dirty but wet, use a floor cleaning system that leaves the floor dry to avoid customers slipping. Consider a compact air mover to dry floors quickly in between cleanings. 

2. Changing rooms can often be overlooked because they are “out of sight, out of mind.” It is important to have a schedule in place to check these rooms at least every 30 minutes. Any clothing that is balled up in the corner of the dressing room isn’t going to be available to customers shopping out on the floor. Once all of the clothes are hung and put on return racks, wipe down the doorknobs, mirror, and seats with a disinfectant wipe. 

3. Counters and display cases can often look like fingerprint Picassos after a few customers, especially children. With the majority of customers being required to come in contact with the counter at checkout, the spread of cold and flu germs is likely. Keep customers’ health and employees’ health high priority by frequently cleaning these counters with disinfectant wipes. Also consider a bottle of hand sanitizer to be placed on the counter. 

A clean store leads to happy customers, and happy customers lead to more dollars spent.