Showrooms for safe home shopping
The COVID-19 pandemic has already changed the way we do things significantly—from buying our groceries, paying bills, attending meetings, studying, to interacting with just about everyone.
Amid this crisis, new health and safety protocols became the norm—frequent washing and sanitizing of our hands, keeping our face mask and face shield on (and wearing these correctly) when in public, physical distancing and observing proper etiquette when coughing and sneezing. Time and again, we are also reminded to stay home and not go out unless it’s absolutely necessary.
While we may have started to get used to the idea of shopping for our essentials online, working or studying from the safety of our homes and even conducting our other transactions without needing to step out of the house, there are still errands that require us to brave the outside world. Those looking to buy a house or a condominium unit, for instance, would still need to do an ocular inspection of the property that they’re eyeing.
In this pandemic-ravaged world, however, how can homebuyers be assured that a visit to a showroom won’t be a threat to one’s health? We, at Inquirer Property, thought of designing our own post-pandemic showroom experience.
Homebuyers could be “accompanied” by property agents virtually.
Virtual oculars would be a safe, convenient option these days.
VR tour
It’s a love-and-hate relationship when it comes to leaving the house for errands during these times. We want a change of scenery (you’ve had enough of your clothesline as your window view for the past six months) but we also dread being exposed to the virus lurking just about anywhere.
Imagine how convenient—and safe—it would be if homebuyers in search of a new house or condo could first do a virtual ocular visit prior to seeing the actual space in person. Virtual tour apps that are easy to use and budget-friendly can now easily be downloaded, even on one’s smartphone.
QR codes can take the place of printed forms.
Contactless contact tracing
These days, practically every place we go to requires us to fill out health declaration forms. While this is perfectly understandable, various tests have shown that the new coronavirus can survive on paper, from three hours up to four days.
As the virus is ever changing, it is better to be on the side of caution. We could imagine QR codes taking the place of printed forms, not only for health declaration forms but also for all the rest of the documents that clients will need to fill up. Besides, going paperless is not only safe for one’s health during these times, it will benefit the environment, too.
Sensor-driven sanitizers
Who would have thought that we would be a nation of germaphobes? These days, a bottle of alcohol (and not the one for happy hour) is everybody’s best friend. Though each one of us has bottles of it in our bags and pockets, showrooms which have sanitizers on the ready immediately get our nod of approval.
We could imagine the showrooms of tomorrow equipped with sanitizers in mobile, sensor-driven, automatic dispensers, which will follow potential homebuyers around the model house or condominium showroom that they are inspecting. We would also have these self-driving disinfecting robots which would be following us around, sanitizing the spaces as people go from one room to another, from the tabletops that we would touch to the floors that we would walk on.
Air purifiers with HEPA filters should be a staple in model houses and showrooms.
The promise of clean air
Showrooms are enclosed spaces. Studies have shown, however, that COVID-19 can be transmitted indoors, especially where there is poor ventilation.
Air purifiers with HEPA filters would be a staple in model houses and condominium showrooms. We wouldn’t be surprised, too, if homebuyers will be provided with personal air purifiers to be worn around their necks as an added measure, as they tour and check out the model units.
Self-driving disinfecting robots could follow us around, disinfecting and sanitizing the spaces as we go from one room to another.
Topnotch service—from a distance
As we are advised to keep our interaction with other people to a minimum to prevent the spread of the virus, homebuyers would be “accompanied” by property agents virtually. Robots installed with cameras would follow the homebuyers as they go around the showroom while representatives of the property watch at a separate area, ready to answer whatever queries the clients will have about the house or condo unit.
Photos by fauxels, Pixabay, Alex Knight, Roman Koval and Christina Morillo from Pexels
