Category: Industry News

COVID-19 has created a seismic shift in consumer behavior that will forever impact retail and customer expectations. As consumers experience product shortages and fear of being in public places they are adapting to a new normal that will require retailers to adapt to survive. 

 

A survey as of April 7 shows 92% of consumers said their shopping behavior had been impacted by Coronavirus. 40% said stores they would otherwise go to are closed. 15% of those who placed an online ship-to-home order in the past month indicated it was their first time ever or first time in the past six months doing so. 37% of click-and-collect users were new or ‘new lately.’   

 

The majority said they are no longer sure if they’ll travel in 2020, that they cancelled a trip, or that they’re no longer comfortable traveling to certain regions. Read more here.

Store closures and furloughs due to coronavirus have struck the retail industry and world economy in an unprecedented way. But, could the worst be behind us? Many experts believe the U.S. COVID-19 outbreak is beginning to show signs of peaking in various hotspots across the country.

 

We asked U.S. consumers on April 3, 2020, “When do you think stores should reopen?” and gathered data from across the country ensuring representation from both hotspots and non-hotspots, genders, and generations.

 

Our recent consumer study finds growing optimism among people living in Coronavirus hotspots, men and Millennials. An overall majority (60%) of consumers in the U.S. feel that stores should reopen by the end of May, 2020. See the infographic here.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Federal Heath has announced the conversion of manufacturing capacity in order to build protective equipment for the medical industry.

“We understand the sacrifices and heroic efforts our doctors, nurses, medical staff and first responders are making in order to keep us safe,” said President and CEO Sid Rasnick. “We have teamed up with a health partner to manufacture and supply protective face shields in record time to the medical industry.”

The goal is to die-cut, assemble and ship 10,000 or more clear PETG masks per week for the next five weeks. Federal Heath will supply the manufacturing labor, the material by a vendor, and another partner will deliver units to places where they are needed most.

“Like most businesses and manufacturing facilities affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, Federal Heath understands the hardships our employees, valued customers and millions of people across the country are facing,” Rasnick said. “To that end, we at Federal Heath want to do our part to support the brave men and women on the frontline of this battle. We are proud of our employees who have volunteered for this project. We understand that we are all in this together and we will do whatever we can to help. ”Federal Heath will continue to practice and follow strict social distancing guidelines as put forth by the CDC, joining in nationwide efforts to protect both our employees and the public.”

When COVID-19 struck, North American Signs quickly identified a need to begin making life saving face shields and barriers for use by medical personnel and others.

“We wanted to do our part to help prevent the spread of Covid-19. So, when we saw a need arise within essential businesses, we sprung into action,” said John Yarger, North American Signs President and CEO.

“Transparent physical barriers for medical, office, retail, and other settings allow people to be in closer proximity and reduces the risk of infection. I believe we can play an important role in both protecting people and aiding the resumption of more normal business conduct.  Helping our country be successful provides a strong motivating force for our employees,” Yarger said. 

The shields help prevent the spread of any droplet-based contagions in grocery stores, at bank teller windows, for healthcare workers in hospitals, and any place where workers come into contact with customers or patients.

Essential workers are the heartbeat of our country—from grocery store clerks, to police officers and firefighters, to healthcare personnel and facilities management. They keep America running. “Because of their daily sacrifice, Safety Shield (a subsidiary of North American Signs) is committed to protecting the health and safety of all people, so that you, your friends, family, and our essential workers can keep running,” Yarger concluded.

As the need for protection against COVID-19 transmission remains critical across the United States, CoolSys™, a parent of market-leading refrigeration and HVAC services companies nationwide, is providing installation of plexi-glass protective panels, known as sneeze guards, at check-out counters in grocery, restaurant and other essential retail stores.  

 

“During this challenging time, we are doing whatever we can to respond to the needs of our customers to prevent transmission of COVID-19,” comments Adam Coffey, CEO at CoolSys.  “By installing sneeze guard plexi-glass panels at the point of purchase, retail stores can add another layer of safety and peace of mind for customers and employees.”

 

While sneeze guards are already commonly used in grocery and food-service locations at self-serve food bars and other areas that require a protective barrier, their installation at check-out counters represents a new measure in the effort to contain and prevent COVID-19 transmission.  They can help customers and employees maintain social distance and physical separation while protecting from splashes and sprays.  CoolSys and its family of companies has already installed sneeze guards at multiple locations of leading  grocery-chains  and is expanding these services nationwide to meet growing demand. 

 

“We are happy that our field crews are able to use their skills and experience to install sneeze guards at some of our most important customers’ locations to help keep their employees and their customers safer during this global crisis,”said Joe Roomsburg, general manager and former owner of Virginia-based BRR Refrigeration, a CoolSys company.

 

About CoolSys 

CoolSys is the market-leading refrigeration and HVAC services company, with more than 100 mechanical, electrical, plumbing and refrigeration (MEPR) engineers and 1,850 field-based technicians specializing in every stage of mission-critical systems from engineering and design, to installation, service and maintenance, and energy optimization. Headquartered in Southern California, CoolSys offers a full suite of services covering the daily needs of more than 40,000 customer locations across North America spanning a range of industries from healthcare, telecom, pharmaceutical, grocery, retail, commercial and industrial cold storage. For additional information, please visit www.coolsys.com.

Rob Almond, CEO of the New Jersey based Integrated Facilities Management company, NEST, who is a member of the Advisory Board of the Department of Decision & System Sciences at St. Joseph’s University will speak with Senior Business Administration students Wednesday, April 8^th, in the Haub School of Business.

Almond will speak to the future business leaders on Crisis Management and Disaster Planning during the COVID-19 response, how NEST supports their clients, employees, and partners during the situation.  

“These students are seniors in the business school at Saint Joseph’s University, taking my class on business strategy,” said Dr. Stephen Porth, Ph.D.  “Learning about crisis management in real time from Rob and how companies weather the storm is an incredible opportunity for them.”

Almond’s direction and guidance in developing the Integrated Facilities Management enterprise-wide solution has brought new offerings to clients including best-in-class business and financial analytics that help drive true cost savings.  His strong desire for a great workplace culture has been recognized for the last seven years as one of the Top Workplaces in Philadelphia and has allowed NEST to see double digit percentage growth each year since 2015.

Almond attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is a graduate of St. Joseph’s University MBA program.