The plan to welcome the new normal at the Alegro Shopping Centers has several priority axes, which can now be consulted online at alegro.pt website, including a manual of good practices that aims to make life easier for everyone visits the shopping center.
Hygiene and continuous monitoring
- There is a comprehensive reinforcement of all hygiene measures, creating a highly frequent cleaning routine for ATMs, waste bins, door handles, handrails, elevators, information desk counter and other focal points;
- An additional cleaning team, specialized in disinfection, has been created. Duly identified, it will only be dedicated to this procedure and will be in action through the Shopping Center’s opening hours;
- Management of access to the shopping center, for example, controlling the mandatory use of a protective mask and permanent electronic monitoring of the number of people circulating in the shopping center at any given moment, among other measures.
Adaptation of areas
- In the food court, several measures were implemented, such as reducing its capacity by 50%; the tables are spaced apart to ensure social distance and its use is limited to a reduced number of people; there are specific tables for families, among other measures;
- In the bathrooms, hand dryers are deactivated and paper dispensers are available; the occupation of this space is reduced to 50% of its usual capacity, in addition to the reinforcement of disinfection;
- Installation of vending machines with individual protection equipment in the accesses of shopping centers, such as protective masks and disinfectant gel;
- Availability of payments by MBWAY and other contactless solutions in more than 75% of tenants, granting that Alegro was the first shopping center brand to widely introduce these payments methods;
- Access to elevators is controlled, with a maximum number of people, and groupings will be restricted;
- Rest areas with the usual sofas and work areas have been partially removed;
- Playgrounds will remain temporarily closed at this stage.
Training, communication and awareness
- Training and awareness-raising actions are carried out by the operational teams of the shopping centres for the correct application of the measures;
- Bet on a solid communication plan visible throughout the Shopping Center, making it known in a pedagogical way to customers which measures are in place and how to act for the protection and safety of all;
- General guidelines were shared with all tenants regarding the measures that must be adopted in stores;
“We are also investing in the development of solutions to facilitate the way customers interact with us, and with our tenants, to provide a more comfortable and adequate experience to today’s needs. We have in place, even before the pandemic, a digital solution for ordering meals without waiting in lines in the restaurant area, in partnership with the Portuguese start-up Levoo, at Alegro Alfragide. We will develop this sort of solutions throughout our portfolio, in partnerships that we will announce soon. The Drive & Smile service will also be available very soon, in which the customer orders the item he wants online or over the phone at his favourite store and collects it in a dedicated space in the car park, without having to leave his vehicle. A simpler, faster and equally secure way to buy ”, stresses Carlos Costa.