Going to the grocery store has been an unlikely source of stress in many peoples' lives during the coronavirus pandemic. And while all major retailers have taken steps to keep customers safer, some have emerged as shoppers' clear favorites.
Ipsos, a global market research firm, polled 2,000 Americans about how their favorite retailers were tackling COVID-19 safety tactics. They then mystery-shopped at stores from 45 retailers, visiting 125 random locations for each company. At the end, Whole Foods emerged as the retailer who scored highest on the most important safety measures identified by customers.
"They demonstrated near universal compliance with associates wearing face coverings inside (98 percent), respecting 6-foot boundaries in customer interactions inside (91 percent), providing plexiglass barriers at checkout (95 percent), and offering contactless payment (87 percent) at the stores visited," according to info from Ipsos.
Costco came in second, followed by Trader Joe's. Whole Foods issued a statement thanking its workers for paying special attention to keeping customers safe, which Ipsos stressed continues to be a factor people consider while the COVID-19 pandemic rages on.
“The ability to deliver on health and safety efforts is now the most important aspect of the customer experience, and it will be for some time,” said executive vice president and service line head of U.S. Channel Performance at Ipsos Nick Mercurio: “We found that 62 percent of shoppers would stop shopping at a retailer not taking health and safety seriously."
This is also a reminder that as grocery store employees work hard to keep us safe, we owe it to them to help keep them safer in the small ways we can by at least avoiding grocery shopping while we're sick, keeping our distance, wearing a mask, and being patient and kind during the pandemic and beyond.
