Retail is a highly competitive industry where one factor can make or break your business: cleanliness. No matter how good your prices are and how qualified your staff is, customers will look elsewhere if your store isn’t pristine. So, what can you do to ensure that your store is in the best physical condition and attracts the maximum number of customers?
To help you, we have come up with numerous retail cleaning tips. These will push you ahead of your competitors and help you comply with regulations, so let’s begin.
Retail Cleaning Tips: The Areas You Need to Target
Thoroughly cleaning your retail store is impossible if you don’t really know which areas to target. But don’t worry; we are here with everything essential about the retail store cleaning checklist.
1. Entry and Exit Points
Whenever customers enter and exit your stores, they see the storefront, the windows, the welcome mats, and the like. If you do not welcome customers well, they might look elsewhere, and you’ll lose sales. Keep the entrance to your store clean and clear 24/7 to attract as many customers as possible.
Here are a few retail cleaning tips to take care of your store’s entrance and exit:
- Clean doors and windows
- Clean signage around the doorway
- Remove litter and clean planters and benches
- Sanitize door knobs and handles
2. Shopping Area
The shopping area sees a lot of traffic since that is where customers spend most of their time. Get rid of any litter and abandoned items in the shopping area before customers arrive to provide them with a pleasant shopping experience.
Here are the best retail cleaning tips for the shopping area:
- Dust and clean shelves, furniture, and decor
- Clean mirrors and partitions
- Organize merchandise
- Remove any spots on the surrounding walls
- Vacuum carpets and empty trash cans
3. Checkout Area
The checkout area is often busy and cluttered, requiring regular cleansing. The following are the retail cleaning hacks to try for the checkout area:
- Thoroughly wipe any glass surfaces
- Clean the checkout stands
- Empty trash
- Organize merchandise
4. Restrooms
Restrooms are undoubtedly one of the dirtiest places, and the story of retail restrooms are no different. people have become more conscious after the COVID-19 pandemic. Keeping retail restrooms clean and sanitized is crucial, so people feel safe while shopping at your store.
Retail stores in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area usually open for around eight hours, meaning many people use their restrooms. Therefore, these restrooms should be cleaned with a sanitizing solution every day.
Here is a list of the retail cleaning tips for your store’s restroom:
- Unclog drains and clean sinks
- Remove backsplashes
- Sanitize door knobs
- Sweep and mop the floor
- Replenish sanitizer, toilet paper, and hand towel
5. High Touch Surfaces
Some surfaces of your store are touched more often than others, including door handles, barcode scanners, cash registers, and the like. Frequent touching not only makes these surfaces dirty but also poses a health hazard. Germs love dirty surfaces, so if you do not observe cleanliness, they will spread like wildfire.
The following are usually the most touched surfaces in retail stores:
- Credit card terminals
- Cash registers
- Display cases
- Barcode scanners
Try to clean these spots several times a day. It doesn’t just keep everyone healthy, but also shows customers that you care about them.
6. The Floors
It is no news that customers hate dirty floors. It could be a make-or-break deal for your store, so keep your floor spotless. Regularly mop and sweep them with cleaning solutions and disinfectants to make them look pretty and keep your retail space healthy. If there is a spill, clean it immediately without leaving any trace.
Cleaning hack
7. The Dressing Rooms
If your store’s dressing room stinks and doesn’t have an inviting aura atmosphere, forget about people purchasing from you. Dressing rooms are where people actually decide if they should spend their hard-earned money on your products. So, do not ignore dressing rooms and follow these retail cleaning tips:
- Keep seating areas pristine
- Clean the mirrors (let people appreciate that new dress!)
- Keep floors clean
- Sanitize the door knobs (keep your customers healthy)
Guess what – keeping the dressing room pristine might push people to buy two dresses instead of one. So, you are getting excellent returns on a small investment.
The Risks and Consequences of Not Cleaning Your Store
When it comes to retail stores, cleanliness isn’t a luxury. It is a necessity that you ignore at your own peril. Not cleaning a retail store can also result in legal, financial, and health challenges that no store owner wants. If you want to avoid these issues, the best solution is to spend a smaller amount and clean your store. If you are unsure about costs, use a commercial cleaning calculator to generate accurate estimates and set a budget.
1. Regulatory Consequences
Running a retail store means you are under the constant purview of law enforcement agencies. Hygiene is a crucial part of regulations, and not taking them seriously can result in penalties. For instance, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a Food Code that deals with food in the retail setting.
Keep your retail space clean, no matter what products you sell.
2. Health and Safety Risks
Unhygienic retail stores pose a health risk not only for consumers but also to staff due to multiple kinds of germs and pathogens. Frequently cleaning retail stores is a must to provide a clean workspace to the staff and a safe shopping experience for customers.
3. Negative Perception
The first thing consumers see, even before merchandise, is the cleanliness of your store. If it is a positive impression, you will likely sell some products to them. If not, it is much easier for customers to look for another store.
4. Extra Maintenance Costs
As a retail business, your goal is to minimize costs and maximize profits, but the opposite happens when you ignore cleanliness. Not maintaining your store means your equipment, fixtures, and overall infrastructure break down. You spend a lot of money on repairs and maintenance, which you could easily have avoided with a proactive cleaning approach.
Conclusion
Keeping your retail store clean and shiny should be one of your top priorities if you want to attract customers. The retail cleaning tips discussed in this write-up will keep your store in excellent shape and boost your revenues.
You can focus on the more productive side of the business by outsourcing cleaning work to a reliable name like Mill City Cleaning. We have over 25 years of experience providing top-notch commercial cleaning services to Minneapolis-Saint Paul businesses. We are also well known for our residential cleaning services, with thousands of satisfied customers.
Get a quote for your residential, commercial, or construction space today and get the best Minneapolis cleaning service.
FAQs
1. How to keep my retail store clean?
You can keep your retail store clean by targeting the areas with the most customer traffic, such as floors, checkouts, restrooms, changing rooms, etc. Clean them thoroughly to give your store a refined look.
2. How to maintain hygiene at a retail store?
The best way to maintain hygiene at a retail store is to clean it regularly and teach your employees about the importance of a clean space. Provide free hand sanitizer to customers and the staff to encourage hygienic habits.
3. How to cleanse a shop?
Cleansing a shop is all about:
- Removing dust and debris
- Mopping the floors
- Washing areas with stains
- Cleaning mirrors
- Rotating welcome mats and changing restroom towels
