Retail Store Cleaning: What Areas Should You Be Focusing On?

Retail stores and supermarkets can all vary drastically in size, and it can seem a daunting task to thoroughly clean the premises on a daily basis. Perhaps your store is in a busy shopping centre, or even just a smaller shop in a local town, cleaning is still an essential part of the job. With so many essential areas to focus on cleaning, you may simply not have the hours in the day to ensure your store is spotless.

Fortunately, we've identified some key areas of your retail store that you should be focusing on which in turn will help you present your business in the best light to all customers and provide everything there is to know about retail store cleaning. Tailored retail cleaning solutions cater to the unique needs of retail businesses, ensuring that high-traffic areas remain clean and hygienic.

Retail cleaning services cover a wide variety of areas within a retail environment, including both public spaces like aisles, fitting rooms, and restrooms, as well as back-end areas such as storage rooms.

How to achieve a clean retail environment

First and foremost, all businesses must adhere to the health and safety standards set out by the CQC. A retail cleaning company plays a crucial role in meeting these legal requirements and providing specialised services tailored for retail environments.

Achieving a clean retail facility takes time and precision. We recommend you start by creating a consistent daily cleaning schedule which should include tasks such as sweeping and mopping dirty floors, as well as wiping and disinfecting any high contact touchpoints that customers will interact with.

Neglecting cleanliness can lead to hidden costs, such as increased maintenance or replacement costs for electronics and retail items, which are often overlooked by businesses.

Areas to focus on when cleaning Retail Stores & Supermarkets

Let’s go through the recommended cleaning areas of a retail environment you should focus on to meet the specific needs of different retail businesses.

Entryways

Did you know that 90% of customers will think negatively of a business if it's not clean? Don't be a retail establishment that neglects cleanliness and prevent yourself from pleasing your customers. Making a first impression is essential in every business and providing a clean environment allows for an excellent customer experience. It can also help build brand loyalty and lead to repeat customers and positive word of mouth.

The first area of your retail store that customers will experience are your entryways. These are an often overlooked within retail spaces, but you don't realise just how important making this first impression is. If anything, you should place extra importance on these areas as if a customer is happy upon first arriving at your store, they will likely enjoy the rest of their experience.

Mats can be used in entryways to help remove dirt and dust as customers enter. The larger the mat, the more successful this will be. This won't offer you 100% protection though and incorporating good cleaning techniques is still an essential part of your schedule. A mix of dusting, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming and disinfecting all surface areas are all necessary to ensure that your premises are sufficiently safe and hygienic at all times.

Changing rooms & restrooms

Changing rooms and restrooms are also overlooked but still require extra care. While other sectors take pride in having clean restrooms such as restaurants and hotels, many store managers neglect cleanliness in these areas and therefore customer expectations are not met. The last thing a customer wants to experience when they go into a changing room/restroom is a dirty space when those areas are often used to freshen up. Preventing hazards such as slippery floors is crucial to ensure the safety and well-being of both staff and customers. Cleaning staff should be assigned to these areas at least twice a day to ensure these areas are kept sanitary. Depending on your individual daily schedule however, this may be subject to change.

Everything from toilets, to contact points, appliances and surface areas all require regular cleaning. You should also check bathroom stock which includes soap dispenser levels and the numbers of toilet papers so you can be sure that you don't run out.

Shopping carts

Perhaps a lesser expected area of your store but still just as important, shopping carts and trolleys can be a breeding ground for bacteria and germs. A study from 2017 suggests that a trolley can have 361 times more bacteria than a toilet door knob. Just think of the amount of people per day that are interacting with trolleys and how many people have used the handle and not washed their hands. Then also consider the frequency in which these surfaces get cleaned, not very often!

The cleaning process for disinfecting shopping carts and trolleys involves several steps to ensure a safer experience for customers. This includes initial contact, site visits for assessment, and the creation of customized cleaning plans.

Don’t be a store that ignores this, disinfect these carts/trolleys after each use and create a safer experience for the next customer.

Counters/pay areas

Retail counters include many surfaces that see frequent contact throughout the day. Maintaining a clean store, especially in these areas, enhances customer experience by presenting the products attractively. These areas should all be cleaned and disinfected regularly to deal accordingly with potentially high volumes of customers. Not only counter surfaces but card machines and any other contact points around these areas should be appropriately cleaned.

All contact points

Hiring a professional cleaning service is crucial to ensure that contact points throughout stores are appropriately cleaned, as these areas have some of the highest interactions from customers. These include any door knobs & handles, screen displays, handheld scanners, shopping trolleys/baskets and of course self-checkout screens.

Shop floor

As mentioned previously, mats can be placed in entryways to help trap dust and other small debris from entering further into the store. However, it will not stop all germs and bacteria from spreading around the floor. That's why you should invest in floor cleaning, using mopping, sweeping, vacuuming and disinfecting to keep sanitary levels high. It's up to you what tools you want to use, and certain cleaning equipment costs will vary.

Deep cleaning

Deep cleaning should be performed every so often to eliminate all germs and bacteria where regular cleaning cannot. This comprehensive range of services covers extensive areas and ensures a welcoming atmosphere for customers. Depending on demands and store traffic, this can be done on a weekly basis, every 2 weeks or every month. This is something to discuss with cleaning staff and formulate a plan with times that work for you.

Deep cleaning requires higher-strength cleaning equipment and cleaning products to ensure a thorough job is done. Be mindful that using higher-strength chemicals requires sufficient COSHH training to correctly handle them and avoid danger.

Save time by seeking retail cleaning services

With many cleaning responsibilities throughout the busy working week in a retail store, it can seem an impossible task to ensure your business premises are spotless. That's where professionals can help!

Professionals can help you with your cleaning needs, creating a bespoke schedule that works for you and fits in around your peak times to deliver the best results. Professional cleaning services can also help create a welcoming environment that enhances customer experience and satisfaction.

Retail store cleaning services

As a professional commercial cleaning company, Jani-King offers the best available retail cleaning services to businesses in need of a professional cleaning team. Our experts work tirelessly to maintain a clean and safe environment in retail stores, ensuring that no corner is missed and both customers and staff feel secure and comfortable.

Get a free quote with Jani-King today. Should you have any further questions or need help, feel free to contact us.