Walmart’s Big Change Makes Grocery Shopping More Enjoyable for Everyone
In-person shopping at Walmart is now calmer and more accessible.
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Walmart is upping its game in several areas. Its bakery items rival the beloved baked goods at Sam’s Club and Costco. It’s also leveling up to those warehouse clubs by adding free sample stations to 1,000 stores.
Walmart has launched another change that doesn’t entice the sense of taste but is meant to make shopping more inclusive for customers with sensory disabilities. It comes just as the holiday shopping season (which can overload the senses of just about anyone, but particularly those with sensory disabilities) is about to start in earnest.
Walmart’s Daily Sensory-Friendly Hours
During the back-to-school season, when many families shopped together, Walmart did a pilot program that made stores more inclusive for those with sensory abilities. For a couple of hours on Saturday mornings, the stores involved in the pilot had a less stimulating environment.
The TV walls showed only static images. The stores turned off radios and, where possible, lowered the lights.
At the time, when Walmart piloted the sensory-friendly hours, Instagram’s The Swedish Flicka posted a photo of a Walmart poster announcing the effort. She commented, “don’t know what this actually means -but I DO like the sounds of it.”
One of the account's followers was excited about the opportunity to shop in a sensory-friendlier environment with their son. “When we go to the grocery store, it is so overwhelming, he wants to go, he is turning 21 in about a month so he isn’t a young child, but oh to have a shop that would do this for him would be splendid!!! He likes to be in nature because it is noises that aren’t irritating but to be in crowded spaces, loud music, bright lights and loud sounds, it’s very hard on his body. He usually needs quiet time after we have been out shopping.”
Another said, “I wish they did it everywhere all year round.”
That person is getting their wish.
According to Walmart, the program received “overwhelmingly positive” feedback. On Nov. 10, Walmart made sensory-friendly hours permanent at all its U.S. and Puerto Rico stores, every day of the week from 8-10 a.m. local time.
“These changes are thanks to those who shared their feedback on how their stores could help them feel like they belong,” a Walmart statement said.
Walmart Employees Also Love the New Sensory-Friendly Hours
Employees also shared feedback on the store's big change.
Store manager Tyler Morgan said, “Several associates expressed the desire to continue the program all year. We have associates with Autism, ADHD, etc., in the store and one associate made the comment that this is the first time the company did something just for him.”
The next time you walk into a Walmart between 8 and 10 a.m., pay attention to what’s happening or not happening. The sensory-friendly hours are designed to help those with sensory disabilities, which will likely help many individuals and families looking for help in that area. But it might also be a little calmer shopping experience for the rest of us, too, and who doesn’t need a little more calm in their life?
Read the original article on All Recipes.
