Intu is repurposing its footfall-tracking technology to ensure social distancing measures are maintained within its UK shopping centres.

As non-essential retailers are able to reopen this week, the shopping centre owner stated that frontline staff will be informed when the centre is reaching maximum capacity so they can instruct shoppers to queue outside until it is safe to enter.

Queuing zones will also be included inside shopping centres to ensure social distancing is maintained inside stores, while other measures like one-way systems, floor stickers and sanitation stands have been introduced.

According to an Intu study conducted earlier this month, 60 per cent of shoppers would actively encourage the introduction of a temperature scan upon entering its centres, alongside measures like CCTV crowd monitoring and cashless stores.

A separate study among 2,000 consumers conducted by Laybuy found that 46 per cent of UK shoppers were preparing to avoid visiting high street shops at peak times as non-essential retailers reopen, while 40 per cent will insist upon contactless purchases.

When it came to government guidance, just over a third (34 per cent) said wearing a mask was a priority, behind taking hand sanitiser out with them (36 per cent) and avoiding spending more time shopping than necessary (38 per cent).

Another survey among 2,000 UK adults for Qualtrics found that 44 per cent of consumers do not yet feel comfortable about shopping in-store.

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