UK | To mark World Autism Acceptance Month, the Morrisons Foundation has collaborated with the National Autistic Society to introduce Sensory Support Boxes that help autistic and neurodivergent customers have a positive shopping experience in supermarkets.
The Sensory Support Boxes have been carefully developed in consultation with the National Autistic Society to ensure they include the most helpful items, which encourage calmness and focus.
By May, the boxes will be available in all of Morrisons' approximately 500 supermarkets. Customers wishing to access the items simply need to speak to a colleague at the customer service kiosk at the start of their shop.
More than one in 100 people are autistic, and there are 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK. Routine activities such as the weekly shop can be difficult for neurodivergent people with loud music, bright lights and busy environments contributing to anxiety.
“It’s a priority for us to ensure all Morrisons customers feel welcomed and understood, and we’re proud to be leading the way in creating a more inclusive shopping environment for autistic people, their families and all neurodivergent people across the UK,” said Joseph Clark-Bland, Community Manager at Morrisons.
“World Autism Acceptance Month has been a key moment for Morrisons for many years, as seen with the launch of Quieter Hour in 2018, and we look forward to supporting even more customers via our new Sensory Boxes.”
Morrisons has introduced other initiatives to help neurodivergent customers. For example, in 2018, Quieter Hour was rolled out to reduce sensory experiences in store by turning off checkout beeps and dimming lights. These have proved successful with all customers and run between 2 pm and 3 pm every week from Monday to Thursday.
“The Morrisons Foundation Sensory Support Boxes are a brilliant initiative to support autistic and neurodivergent customers while shopping. Supermarkets are a key part of all of our lives, but for many autistic customers they can be a loud, bright and crowded environment, which can be overwhelming especially for those with sensory sensitivities,” said Peter Watt, Managing Director of National Programmes at the National Autistic Society.
“During World Autism Acceptance Month, it’s really important for all businesses and retail spaces to learn more about the changes they can make to be more inclusive and accessible for autistic and neurodivergent people. It’s fantastic to see Morrisons taking the time to understand and create a more welcoming space for autistic people and their families.”
The Morrisons Foundation was set up by Morrisons supermarket in 2015, and grants were awarded for charity projects that helped improve people’s lives. Since launching, over GBP 42 million has been donated to hundreds of charities across England, Scotland and Wales.
