How Purple is Creating a Safe In-Store Shopping Experience

To survive into 2021, brick-and-mortar retailers this holiday season must instill confidence in COVID-19-wary shoppers. Case in point: Leading mattress brand Purple will install hand sanitizer dispensers in all of its store locations. Purple has chosen startup Touchland Hand Sanitizer — and its tech-enabled “KUB”  dispensers — as its partner.

The KUBs, designed by Touchland Founder and Product Designer Andrea Lisbona, are filled with a proprietary, FDA-compliant aloe vera based-hydrating formula that lasts two times longer than gel sanitizers. The KUB is a tech-savvy dispenser, sending smart phone alerts when low on formula, saving hours of staff time.

As we approach the crucial holiday shopping season, retailers must find ways to assure shoppers the in-store experience is safe and anxiety-free. For Purple, Touchland’s KUB is playing a big part in that effort.

In an exclusive interview with Total Retail, Tres White, Purple's chief retail officer, details the retailer's partnership with Touchland, and what it will mean for shoppers.

Tres White, Chief Retail Officer, Purple

Total Retail: What protocols has Purple put into place to ensure the safety of consumers returning to its stores?
Tres White: Purple has installed branded hand sanitizer stations throughout stores alongside floor signage that encourages six feet of social distancing. We require both customers and associates to wear masks in the store. We sanitize beds between customers, pulling top sheets over beds before customers lay down and using pillow protectors for testing pillows. We also regularly sanitize all displays and point-of-sale equipment.

TR: What is Purple doing at the store level to ensure its customers and employees are taking the necessary safety precautions?
TW: In addition to all the safety measures mentioned above, we have COVID training for all associates to ensure customer and associate safety. We also have signage at the lease line explaining our COVID measures to customers. 

TR: As part of the reopening of Purple's retail stores, the company has partnered with Touchland to install its hand sanitizer dispensers. What about Touchland made it the right partner for Purple?
TW: Outside of the fact that the machines provide the basic functionality for sanitization, we chose Touchland because we could place our logo on the device, and the aesthetic is much more pleasing than any other hand sanitizer device we could find.

TR: How many Touchland KUB dispensers are installed at Purple stores, and where within the stores are they located? Are you using signage to draw consumers' attention to them?
TW: We have three to four Touchland KUB dispensers per location. They’re usually placed near the store entrance and near displays that customers touch. 

TR: Looking forward, what steps would you recommend retailers take to ensure the safety of their in-store shoppers?
TW: At this point it seems that with proper cleaning and protections in place, like those mentioned above, it’s more about effective execution. As far as future steps are concerned, the most important one is continuing to monitor the unique customer experience of your locations and evolving to meet customer needs, as well as observing what others are doing to identify new best practices.