Zero Contact Everything: Coronavirus Causes The Rapid Rise Of ‘No Touch’ Retail

“Consumers use their hands to connect with brands.” So said a 2011 Harvard Business Review article entitled “Please Touch The Merchandise”, that highlighted “the forgotten sense of touch” in retail. Now, in a COVID-19 world, that perspective seems ludicrously out of touch. Shoppers today don’t want to touch anything apart from their own mobile phones (which, somewhat ironically, can be “10 Times Dirtier Than A Toilet Seat”.)

Danger lurks everywhere from gas pump handles to crosswalk buttons and in response, retailers across the planet are racing to introduce their own versions of ‘No Touch’ Retail.

This trend started where the virus began: in China. In that market, which is ahead of the game in online retail, food vendors facing consumer lockdowns very quickly offered “contactless delivery”, leaving orders “at a door, in a locker, or at a designated drop-off station”. Some meal services even listed the names and body temperature of the people who cooked and delivered the food, for customer peace of mind.

In the West, Domino’s has launched “Zero Contact Delivery” (or similar) in many cities around the world, with “no direct contact between you and the Delivery Expert”. The order is placed in front of the door, before the “expert” steps away from the pizza and contacts the customer to let them know it has arrived. Many other food delivery platforms are following suit, as are grocery delivery services like Instacart.

Pick-up is also forgoing the human touch. McDonald’s in Australia is offering “Contactless Order, Pay & Pick-Up”. Outside of food, retailers who are closing stores are opening up curbside for convenient contactless collection. Electronics retailer Best Buy in the States has gone 100% curbside, with only employees allowed into their stores.

Services are also removing contact with people. In the U.K. Halfords has brought in a zero contact garage service, where car fittings and repairs can happen in the driveway or outside the home, while customers stay inside and self-isolate. Even in vet services, Australia’s Greencross Vets has announced a “minimal human contact” pet care option – you stay in your car while your animal is collected and the consult happens remotely.

Contactless payment solutions are helping to make ‘No Touch’ Retail possible. Whether it’s ‘tap and go’ or app-based options, use of contactless payment is sky-rocketing and cash has become a dirty word (after all, the virus reportedly lives on hard services for up to 72 hours). In the U.K., cash usage dropped by 50% due to coronavirus concerns. In the U.S. (where contactless payment is less widespread), Walmart is activating its app, allowing customers to forgo even the touchscreen at checkout when they use Walmart Pay.

The natural next step is to take humans out of the equation entirely – robot retail. Once again, China is leading the way, with JD.com and Alibaba owned Ele.me despatching robots into quarantined areas during the worst outbreaks of the coronavirus. Even before the threat of COVID-19, robots and automation were finding their ways into many aspects of Chinese life, such as hotels run almost completely by robots.   

Is ‘No Touch’ Retail here to stay? Will these trends persist even when the threats of the coronavirus have dissipated? I think so, and meantime, in the middle of this pandemic, zero is hero. The best way to keep contact with customers is to reduce contact as much as possible.