Health and safety should never be taken for granted, even in retail environments. Not only do businesses need to be concerned with providing the products and services that consumers want, but they also need to be concerned with keeping customers safe while they’re shopping. After all, accidents can happen anywhere, which is why employee and customer safety should be a priority for retailers. Fortunately, technology is there to help in this area. The Internet of Things (IoT) has a variety of tools retailers can turn to to keep their stores safe, one being smart weigh scales.
Let’s take a closer look at how smart weigh scale technology and IoT can help to create a safe shopping environment for everyone.
Training Apps
One of the first steps in creating a safe shopping environment is making sure employees are properly trained. They not only need to know how to do their jobs properly but also how to protect themselves, their co-workers, and customers. This can be as fundamental as preventing slips and falls, as well as some of the other common safety hazards found in a retail environment.
Fortunately, there are training apps that can help take new employees through the process and teach them everything they need to know about contributing to a safe environment. For retailers that rely on young employees, it can be essential to have a training app that shows them the ropes and can provide comprehensive training, as well as occasional reminders. This is especially important when it comes to using new equipment, such as smart weigh scales.
Video Surveillance
In most retail locations, it’s common to find some kind of video surveillance system. Most people assume this is to prevent theft, but it can have other uses as well. For instance, it can be used to review any safety accidents and close calls that take place within the store. The video footage can help to determine what went wrong and how similar instances can be prevented in the future.
Video surveillance footage can also be helpful when it comes to training new employees. They can see what they shouldn’t do while on the job. This type of training can be useful and make an investment in surveillance technology easier to justify because it serves multiple purposes.
IoT Sensors
Along with surveillance cameras, it’s common for retail stores to use various IoT sensors that can help track safety hazards. There is almost no limit to the things that modern sensors can track and detect. Obviously, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are obvious for everyone’s safety. But IoT sensors can also track movement, lighting, obstructions, and anything else a business might need to track to ensure a safe environment for both workers and customers. That way, any signs of trouble will be detected as quickly as possible before anyone is put in any serious danger.
Temperature Monitoring
The temperature inside a retail store is important for the comfort level of customers and employees but it can also be a health and safety matter. Retailers don’t want temperatures to get too hot or too cold, potentially exacerbating a pre-existing condition someone in the store might have. Also, in larger retail stores, there can be significant temperature fluctuations in different parts of the store. This is another thing that retailers will want to avoid if possible.
However, modern technology is able to provide sensors that can monitor the temperature in all corners of a retail store. This can allow retailers to monitor temperatures in real-time and make adjustments to keep the temperature comfortable and safe at all times.
Automated Doors
While automated doors have become common in retail locations, today’s technology is able to take things a step further. On top of just opening doors automatically when customers try to enter the store, today’s software can track the traffic that is flowing in and out of the store. If retailers are worried about exceeding the safe capacity of people allowed in the store during a busy time, sensors connected to the automated doors or surveillance cameras at the entrance can track that information in real-time.
During the holiday season, overcrowding in retail stores can be a serious safety problem for consumers. Businesses don’t want to risk customers getting hurt because there are too many people in the store. There are also regulatory limits to the number of people who can be in a store at one time. Rather than relying on an employee, there are IoT tools that can track this to make sure those limits aren’t exceeded and customers aren’t in an overcrowded and unsafe environment.
Contactless Check-In
Given the health concerns created by the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s more important than ever for retailers to make as many parts of the shopping experience contactless. Doing so helps prevent the spread of germs giving customers peace of mind when they shop, while also enabling frictionless shopping. Retailers now have plenty of options when it comes to POS systems and retail check-out solutions equipped with a smart weigh scale that can help to reduce the interaction between customers and employees, creating both a seamless and safer shopping experience.
Antimicrobial Touchscreens
With modern POS systems with a smart weigh scale, touchscreens are becoming more common in retail locations. Of course, while this eliminates person-to-person contact, countless customers touching the same screen day after day creates a new health concern. Fortunately, antimicrobial touchscreens are a new innovation that is helping to solve this problem. It’s now possible for retailers to use antimicrobial coatings on any touchscreen. This can help to neutralize germs and diseases, allowing customers to use in-store touchscreens safely and worry-free.
Automated Lighting
Somehow, lighting is often overlooked when it comes to in-store safety. The reality is that poorly lit areas of a retail location can increase the chances of a hazard literally tripping up a customer or employee. It’s now possible to install automated lighting that can sense movement and turn on lights as needed. This can be done for store entrances, back exits, and even certain areas of a store that don’t need lighting all the time but should be well-lit while in use. The last thing any retailer wants is for there to be an injury caused by poor lighting because this is usually something that could have been easily prevented.
Smart Weigh Scale Shelf Technology
For many retailers, a smart weigh scale in the form of smart shelves plays a key role in effectively managing inventory. But there is also a safety aspect to this technology. If shelves are overloaded, they are more likely to tip over and injure someone. Similarly, the items on the shelves could fall off and hit an employee or customer. But with sensors on shelves, retailers will know the right amount of items to put on a particular shelf and the exact weight a shelf can handle. This can help to avoid the types of accidents that are completely preventable.
Customized Security System
All retailers need some form of security system in place. Sometimes it’s to prevent theft but other times it can help to prevent accidents and injuries. Fortunately, with the type of technology that’s available today, retailers can put together customized security systems that can cater to their exact needs. This can mean getting the right number of cameras and sensors and putting them in the right places. If there are security guards, they will be able to manage both theft and safety more effectively with a customized system in place.
In other words, safety technology is no longer one-size-fits-all. The technology available today allows retailers to design the ideal security system to protect everyone.
Auditing Platforms
One of the biggest keys to maintaining a safe retail environment is performing self-audits. Retailers need to constantly look at the procedures they have in place for monitoring and addressing safety concerns so that improvements can be made. With a retail audit platform, these proactive inspections can be scheduled and conducted in an efficient way.
This is the best way for retailers to perform their due diligence with regard to safety while always looking for ways to improve the well-being of their employees and customers to ensure a safe shopping environment.
Want to discover other ways to prevent retail accidents? Contact us today to learn about our innovative solutions and how they can secure your business operations.