Lush is reopening 88* shops in England on Monday 15th June, following an almost three month closure. Scotland, Wales and Ireland opening dates are still to be confirmed. At the point of lockdown each individual Lush shop did all they could to pass their stock, especially the soap which had run out in supermarkets at that time, to charities and groups in their local communities. As a result, all shops will reopen with fresh stock that is only days old.
Even with considerable help from governments, local councils and landlords, so many businesses are not making it through. I am grateful to be here reopening our shops again and feel unbelievably lucky that we had the help.
MARK CONSTANTINE OBE, LUSH CO-FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR
A new shopping experience
Finding new ways to provide such a personal service to customers is an interesting challenge and the brand anticipates a change in customer experience whilst virus control measures remain in place.
The UK team have been reviewing feedback from what has been working well in other countries who have already reopened.
Alongside local government guidelines – such as observing advised social distancing rules, no hands on demonstrations and having a safe queuing system to enter – safety measures for each Lush shop reopening in England will also include…
- Lower staffing levels to begin with. Lush will be providing face coverings for staff to use if they wish.
- A continuous cleaning rota.
- Customers will be invited to wash their hands as soon as they arrive in store with their own piece of soap peel.
- No product testers on display.
- Shops will have pre-filled sample pots of some of Lush’s most popular products, complete with a tamper proof seal.
- Till points will be 2m apart and be installed with recycled and recyclable perspex screens.
- Signage will be on display at the front of each shop to explain the new procedures to customers.
- Kiosk purchasing at the front door may be set up in a number of shops if they are more comfortable with this to begin with, avoiding the need for customers to enter the shop at all.
- Shops will also be supported through tech advances such as Lush Lens. Designed by Lush’s in-house tech R&D team, customers can download the Lush Labs app on android and iPhone and scan unpackaged products (over 50% of Lush’s range) in-store. The phone’s camera and Machine Learning are able to recognise products and give the customer detailed ingredient information, price and ‘how to use’ demonstrations through immersive videos via the app. The feature is available in 30 countries and 20 different languages.
The brand is asking all customers to pay by card and will not be taking cash at this time. This will be assessed weekly however.
Alternative ways to trade
Outside of the usual customer journey of serving customers in shops, Lush has been getting creative with different ways customers can shop with them to provide as many options as possible.
Shops can choose to run some of the following:
- Order and Collect
- Virtual consultations: Moving some of the customer experience online so that when customers come into store they can pick up their products quickly and easily.
- Taking orders from the queue outside: Orders can be ready and bagged when the customer enters the shop, limiting the amount of time the customer has to spend in the shop.
Find Lush Brighton at 41 East Street.
Website: http://www.lush.co.uk
