Cleaner restrooms increase customer spending, Bradley survey says
February 11, 2020 | By HPAC Magazine
Survey states that the state of a public washroom can make or break a customer's experience.
Bradley Corporation has released its 11th annual Healthy Hand Washing Survey.
According to the survey, which queried 1,005 adults and youth throughout the U.S., public restroom maintenance has a direct impact on whether or not the customer will make a purchase. If the restrooms are clean and well maintained, customers are 62 per cent more likely to increase their spending.
On the contrary, over 60 per cent of those surveyed will either leave the business immediately or are unlikely to return after encountering unpleasant or dirty restrooms.
The cleaner the washroom, the more likely a customer is to spend, survey says (photo: Getty)
There are a number of grievances in public restrooms that trigger high levels of frustration. Among the most aggravating are clogged/unflushed toilets (85 per cent), empty/jammed toilet paper dispensers (83 per cent) and partition doors that don’t latch shut (78 per cent).
The study also found that almost three out of every four Americans make it a point to visit a business because they know it has nice restrooms. Women are especially likely to show preferential treatment, as are millennials and Gen Xers.
“Increasingly, our survey underscores that clean restrooms attract business,” Jon Dommisse, director of strategy and corporate development for Bradley Corp, said in a company release. “Even posting and maintaining a cleaning schedule in restrooms helps reassure customers the facility is clean. Over half who have observed such a schedule say it makes them feel more positive about the business.”
Even though consumers are keen on rewarding restroom-friendly companies, more Americans are having unpleasant experiences in a public restroom. This year, a record-high 76 per cent report having a particularly bad encounter.
“While it’s encouraging that consumers are willing to reward businesses that have nice restrooms, there is a growing disconnect that more Americans are experiencing unpleasant restrooms,” Dommisse said.
Bradley’s survey queried American adults and youth online between Dec. 11 and 16, 2019. Participants were all over 14 years of age and were fairly evenly split between men and women (47 per cent and 53 per cent respectively).
