The authors’ research found that shoppers were almost twice as likely to interact with a formally dressed employee as one who was informally dressed, believing that the more formally dressed employees had more expertise than their casually dressed peers. This raised their expectations of getting better service. As shoppers return to in-person retail, managers should allow flexibility in their employee dress code to communicate to shoppers which employee is the best to ask for assistance.
As pandemic restrictions and lockdowns start to end, many retailers are finding themselves at a crossroads between welcoming customers back inside and keeping their frontline employees safe. Plexiglass shields around registers and signs advising physical distancing are all meant to keep employees safe, but they also reduce interactions with customers. And while some employees feel comfortable returning to work, some retail employees are experiencing anxiety over customer interactions due to the lifting of mask mandates when less than one third of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated.
Addressing these challenges is critical in order for in-person retail to bounce back from the pandemic. Research from before the Covid-19 crisis found that 90 percent of customers would rather leave a store empty handed than ask for assistance. Now, with so many necessary barriers to interaction, how can retailers subtly signal to shoppers which employees are more comfortable closely assisting them? It may come down to employee dress codes.
What clothing tells customers.
Our pre-pandemic research on employee apparel and shopper approach intentions shows that the formality of employee clothing signifies expertise and encourages shopper interaction. Participants in our studies were almost twice as likely to interact with a formally dressed employee (a hair salon employee wearing a white lab coat) as one who was informally dressed (white polo). When we explored why this was, we learned that participants viewed formally dressed employees as having more expertise than their casually dressed peers. This raised their expectations of getting better service. More recent research shows that shoppers still significantly prefer a formally dressed employee over a casually dressed one, even when they are both wearing a mask.
Clothing for social distancing in retail.
Our research suggests that retailers should consider employee apparel as part of social distancing initiatives in two ways. First, when customers are more willing to approach an employee with questions, it can reduce excessive time they spend searching and touching objects around the store (such as when customers have to pick up a box to read the back of it) or leaving without making a purchase. Second, employees who do not want to engage in close interaction can signal that by dressing less formally. Once informed of this effect, perhaps non-vaccinated employees may prefer to dress more casually while vaccinated employees may prefer to dress more formally to encourage shoppers to approach them for assistance rather than their non-vaccinated colleagues. Retailers could also consider more obvious communications by assigning different colored clothing to employees who feel comfortable being within close distance to others and alerting shoppers through signage at the store’s entrance.
What about masks?
While masks do not necessarily fall into the “formal dress” category, they are currently a part of many employee dress codes that may substantially impact approach intentions. A little over a year after the pandemic started, 83% of those surveyed indicated they would be more likely to approach an employee with a face mask over an identical employee without a mask. This indicates that continued employee mask wearing may instill a greater confidence in an employee and may help customers have more satisfactory shopping experiences. Masks do come with an additional challenge in that they restrict facial expressions used for communication between employees and shoppers. An employee can no longer signal their willingness to be approached through smiling, making the signals they send through their apparel choices even more important.
Dressing for social distancing.
Due to the fast-changing nature of the pandemic, there has been uncertainty for many about social protocol as vaccines are delivered and new information is discovered. State regulations may be different than city regulations and retail stores can have their own set of rules on top of those. These regulations have changed during the pandemic as well as recommendations for social distancing and mask wearing. Personal beliefs also add to the uncertainty felt by many on social protocol while shopping. This confusion has left numerous retail employees and shoppers unsure of how to interact with each other in-store.
Retailers can help to lessen this confusion by allowing flexibility in their employee dress code to communicate to shoppers which employee is the best to ask for assistance. At the same time, shoppers need to remember that not every frontline employee feels comfortable offering assistance right now and can look for cues that would signal who is open to being approached. Ultimately, as social protocol has changed so much in the past year, we all need to learn a few new ways to safely communicate as we navigate through this pandemic together.