Years ago, having any form of child entertainment in a retail store was relatively unheard of. Then, along came PlayLands, but even these required parents to either watch the children themselves or trust that they would be safe unsupervised. Somewhere along the line, shopping carts were even transformed into little “cars” and other fun designs hoping to make the shopping experience more desirable for parents. And now some savvy retailers are even providing on-site childcare while parents shop. Of course this presents a new challenge, as retailers are not in the primary business of daycare. For obvious reasons, it is important that stores be able to summon parents quickly back to the nursery should a need arise. JTECH’s ParentPass™ makes it easy for nursery staff to alert parents that their presence is needed.

A spokeswoman for a major home goods store says that, “the parents who come back over and over again know what’s on sale.” Her point being that providing childcare creates repeat shoppers where it otherwise might not. However, it is equally, if not more, important that parents have faith that their children are safe while they are shopping. Peace of mind comes with knowing that if anything happens to your child, that staff will immediately be able to contact you. Childcare in combination with a reliable paging system has led some parents to spend time in stores just for the peace, quiet and alone time. Needless to say, in a retail setting, these are dollars just waiting to be spent.