Our survey said...

A recent survey conducted by Biaccon Ltd has shown some interesting statistics when it comes to consumer confidence in retail and restaurants when it comes to COVID-19.

We are all aware at the economic implications of the current pandemic, but the route out will be vital for rebuilding. Consumer confidence will be one of the most vital metrics to ensure businesses can return to some form of normality when it comes to customer service and revenue generation. Increasing consumer confidence will take many different forms - Value for Money, Quality Products, Safety, Choice and Visual Marketing make up just a few of these.

Biaccon is interested in the Safety aspect of this - mainly looking at Card Transactions with our current project. So, what did the survey show?

The main finding of the survey showed that consumers currently feel they do not see enough cleaning of Chip and Pin machines, consistently across retail and restaurant settings.

This is however an interesting statistic to consider, retail and restaurant settings are identical when it comes to the process of paying via a card transaction, but they are poles apart in the way we carry out that transaction. Retail aims more at fixed terminals whilst restaurants tend to use mobile devices. Restaurants are going a step further; since the pandemic began, more and more restaurants are moving to online menu systems which include payment facilities. Biaccon would be interested in speaking with members of the hospitality industry to get a feeling for the uptake on these types of systems.

One of the more interesting statistics for Project Manager Dan Thomas was the amount of people that state they do carry hand sanitizer around with them whilst shopping, but that percentage is not matched when it comes to applying it to our hands after using a card terminal.

Dan Thomas says "We saw during this survey that the general consensus is that we are masking up, ensuring social distancing, carrying sanitizing products around with us and washing our hands more often. 98% of people who carried out the survey said they wore a mask whilst shopping (It's worth noting this will cover people who are medically except from wearing a mask also),75% carries hand sanitizer with them whilst in a retail or restaurant setting... Yet only 54% use it after using a chip and pin terminal. Consider the process of visiting a shop, logically you would sanitize before entry and then again at the end of your purchase - after you have touched many surfaces within the store. This shows the importance of ensuring the card terminal is sanitized, to prevent viral transmission and to ensure peoples safety."

Finally we come to the key statistic that retailers would be most interested in. 83% of consumers would visit one shop over another if they could see decontamination taking place.

This shows that visible decontamination will be crucial for businesses to get customers through the door and returning to their stores.

Biaccon is currently working on a project that will change the way we see card terminal cleaning, using an automated UVC system that is fully safe for both humans and the card machine itself to cleanse and sanitize the terminal between each user. Do you want to help us with the research we need to develop our product to suit your needs? Contact us today.