Dislike the hustle and bustle of shopping? Try one of these supermarkets who offer a quieter and more relaxed shopping experience.
Food shopping can be a daunting experience for some of our older loved ones. The huge buildings with so many confusing aisles and the hustle, bustle and stress when the shops are busy can put people off!
We are aware that some supermarkets offer quieter shopping hours, implemented originally during the Covid pandemic to help those with hidden disabilities, vulnerable people and our older loved ones to navigate stores more easily. These supermarkets have decided to continue with their adjustments on a longer term basis to support their customers.
It is important to note that the ‘quieter hours’ do not guarantee that the stores will be ‘less busy’ with fewer customers, however, factors such as lighting and noise have been toned down in an attempt to make the shopping experiences more relaxed during those times compared to ‘normal’ shopping hours. As the quieter shopping hours tend to be outside of peak times, there is a higher chance of the shops generally having fewer people visiting.
Tesco have recognised that their supermarkets can be very busy and stressful places. Within both their large stores such as Tesco in Belmont, Durham and their smaller express stores such as Tesco Express in Hetton-Le-Hole, on Wednesday and Saturday mornings between 9am – 10am they have introduced quieter shopping times. During these times they dim the lights and lower the noise at the checkouts. They also reduce the volume of the background music in the store and any tannoy announcements to try to reduce stressful distractions. They hope that this creates a calmer atmosphere for shoppers.
Asda
Asda say that they have invested in training a significant number of their staff to improve their customer service skills with people who may have additional needs.
In the large Asda store in the Galleries in Washington they have a quieter hour between 2- 3pm every Monday to Thursday afternoon. During this time they reduce the noise levels in store by switching off their Asda Radio and reduce tannoy announcements to emergencies only.
It’s handy to know too that Asda also have other adjustments to support people with additional needs such as a brail gun, mobility scooters, disabled parking, accessible toilets and a hearing loop.
Morrisons
Morrisons supermarket in Chester-Le-Street have introduced a quieter hour every Sunday morning to offer the opportunity of a more peaceful shopping experience. They turn off their music and other noises associated with the shopping experience for the first trading hour every week.
The ‘beeps’ on the check outs are turned off, no music will be playing and there will be no PA announcements will be made during this time.
The workers also ensure that they reduce the movement of trolleys and baskets during this time to avoid too many clanging and scraping noises.
Support at home could be ideal for your elderly relative to receive support with their food shopping, taking the stress out of the situation even further. Our Care Professionals can support your loved ones to go shopping or can carry out shopping on their behalf.
Find out more about elderly HOME CARE IN DURHAM with ‘Home Instead’ from our local team now.