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Will Sensory-Friendly Saturdays Make Retail More Accessible?
Saturdays in July and August, most Walmart stores across the nation are providing sensory-friendly hours between 8 and 10 a.m. Some areas have already started implementing this “quiet” time, but in locations where school starts after Labor Day, July 22 will be the first day for customers.
“We are striving every day to create a culture where everyone feels they belong,” Walmart’s executive vice president of general merchandise, Julie Barber, stated in a press release. “This year, Walmart is taking steps toward creating a quieter shopping environment that’s more enjoyable for customers who live with sensory disabilities.”
To help prevent sensory overload and create a more calming, comfortable environment for neurodivergent customers, stores will take measures like dimming lights, turning the radio off, and trading out any moving pictures on screens for stationary images.
Walmart isn’t the only retailer making shopping more accessible and inclusive for customers.
In 2022, Starbucks announced its commitment to “creating more accessible physical and digital experiences through new inclusive design standards.” The company has started by creating more ways to communicate audibly and visually, such as with speech-to-text technology, and providing tools that make navigating stores easier for customers, like with its free Aira service.
Aira “connects people who are blind or have low-vision to trained, professional visual interpreters who provide instant access to visual information about the customer’s surroundings through a smartphone app.” Starbucks even offers a braille menu in all stores across the U.S. and Canada.
Other brands and businesses that have taken steps to be more accessible include:
- Target
- Microsoft
- Nike
- Apple
- CVS
The demographics of consumers today are changing. According to the CDC, “Up to 1 in 4 (27%) adults in the United States have some type of disability.” This includes 12.1% who have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs and over 10% who have a hearing or vision disability. This has led to higher expectations for inclusive shopping experiences that accommodate more diverse needs. Many retailers are taking this in stride, adopting innovative design solutions like wheelchair ramps and elevators, widened hallways and aisles, and grab bars.
Technology is playing an especially big role in making retail more inclusive. From more accessible e-commerce sites and mobile apps with assistive features to VR solutions for better in-store experiences, retailers have a lot of new tech at their disposal.
Even cosmetic companies like Estée Lauder and L’Oréal have started developing new technology to make their customers’ lives easier. Estée Lauder launched an app in January that uses AI to make it easier for visually impaired shoppers to put on make-up, and L’Oréal created a HAPTA device, “the world’s first handheld computerized make-up applicator designed for people with limited hand and arm mobility to steadily apply lipstick and open packaging.”
Accessibility is ultimately crucial in retail today. According to Francesca Nicasio, retail expert and content strategist at Vend, “Many people wrongly assume that a poor in-store experience can be easily solved by simply ordering groceries and clothes online. However, this is neglecting the fact that people with disabilities should not have to compromise for society; our stores should be designed to meet their needs, as well.”
Retailers like Walmart are just scratching the surface. It’s important for businesses to research and gain insights to better understand what people who live with disabilities go through in order to help them have the great shopping experiences they deserve.
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Do you think the initiatives taken by retailers like Walmart and Starbucks for accessibility and inclusivity are sustainable and scalable in the long term? How can retailers ensure that these efforts remain a priority in the face of changing trends and challenges?
Poll
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It is often not the right strategy to pivot a business model to cater to a small percentage of consumers. However, in the case of disabilities, the industry has successfully utilized more accessible access to their stores with ramps, lifts, lower shelving and even visually impaired signage/audio assistance. With regard to sensory considerations, I would weigh the impact on sales during those hours vs the cost of operation before scaling. Internet shopping is already a good option for those who are not compatible with stores.
Once you have a disability or are caregiver for someone who has, your eyes and ears open to the neglect by retailers and other companies and institution. I applaud retailers that recognize it is not only physically disabled individuals who suffer from in-store obstacles. But I caution them to realize that handicap accessibility signage is not sufficient for those in a wheelchair. Turning off the radio is not sufficient for removing sensory obstacles. Pre-test the environment with those who would benefit by it. There are too many times that my wheelchair bound daughter and I see a sign that says wheelchair accessible and she can’t navigate the store entrance or the bathroom facility even with my help.
I still don’t get the Saturday and Sunday part. Not every day?
Yes. This is a no brainer if your shopping season is tailored to or customer base includes populations where sensory issues are common. Back to school season is a good example, because of the prevalence of ASD & other sensory related challenges in school children that will be in stores. Anyone who has had to run out of facility with a child due to sensory issues knows they aren’t sticking around to complete a purchase to get your child out of an overwhelming environment. On tangent note, I also believe the digital experience can be tailored to at risk populations, in particular older shoppers with neurological difficulties that have trouble using their fingers to navigate complex digital sites or even phones in general. At home shopping for this population is truly an escape & brings quite a bit of joy, if they could just shop the way they need to.
Kudos to these companies for recognizing the needs of people with disabilities and working to make their stores more accessible and inclusive for everyone. This isn’t going to drive volume or improve bottom-line performance. But I’m sure it means the world to the customers and their families for whom these accommodations will make a huge difference in their in-store experience. To ensure that these accommodations are scaleable and sustainable, they must be easy for stores to execute and minimally disrupt store operations.
Accessibility isn’t a fad. The aging population alone will push more retailers to accommodate consumers’ accessibility needs.
Making all shoppers feel welcome and comfortable gives retailers a competitive edge. Investing in inclusivity can pay off.
If not playing Christmas music before Halloween is part of this sensory experience, then please sign me up!
I love this and not just because for accessibility and inclusivity. Studies have been showing that loud and upbeat music is not always right and can decrease the basket depending on the time of day. Also, society benefits at large when there is a change made for accessibility & disabilities. Sidewalks are wonderful now for parents with strollers and kids on bikes. Accessing buildings through a walkway or elevator helps in specific situations for everyone (especially for older buildings). Stop signs and walkways that talks and beeps for pedestrians to cross lowers accidents and gives people another sensory mean if things are safe, which is especially important when they can be distracted. Most of these aren’t needed by the general public, but they sure are beneficial to them.
Retailers such as Walmart, Starbucks, Nike, Apple and Target are taking initiative to create environments where all feel welcomed by making effort to be a “People Positive Companies”. With the one in four American adults has some form of disability, every retail brands should work towards extending disability inclusion and accessibility.
Implementing accessible standards will provide customers with more options to enjoy both their in-store and digital experiences and will make an impact on business in longer run. To make accessibility & inclusivity sustainable and scalable in the long term, the retailers must include these in their mission, values statements or core pillars.
All retailers of consequence ought to follow Walmart’s lead. It’s the right thing to do. Bravo, Walmart, for underscoring your leadership role with this program.
Laudatory, I’m sure…but I’ll have to confess “dimming the lights” throws me: isn’t that rather dangerous ??
As long as they can be sustained, initiatives “like this” are good. But, as father of a neurodiverse son, Saturday morning seems an unlikely time for Walmart to be sensory friendly. I don’t care how much they turn down what they can control, my son’s primary irritation is crowd noise, crowd clamor, and, especially, young kids.
Perhaps it’s kudos for trying — but I’m skeptical about them having picked the right time. And, can any store control enough of the crowd chaos? Tricky.
Yes, brands that provide a shopping experience that is accommodating to more people will likely find success long-term. Accessible design benefits all consumers by improving the overall shopping experience.
Not to mention, data shows that more and more people consider a brands’ stance(s) on social issues to be an important factor when choosing to engage with that brand. Initiatives like sensory-friendly Saturdays show an effort from brands to create a more inclusive society. The biggest thing to remember though for any brand considering a similar initiative is that it needs to come from an authentic place.
The initiatives retailers like Walmart and Starbucks are taking today to make their stores more inclusive are truly incredible. As these retailers continue to compete with the growing ecommerce landscape, investing in accessibility and inclusivity will become even more critical, especially with an ever-growing aging population and a focus on inclusivity and acceptance.