Sensory shopping in Strathmore

By Adelle Ellis, Times Reporter

At least two local businesses in Strathmore are increasing accessibility for all customers by offering special shopping hours for those who have sensory challenges.
Sobeys Strathmore started offering sensory shopping hours in October 2019 where one night a week the lights are dimmed, and sound produced is at a minimum.
“It happens every Monday from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. It’s just meant to provide an environment for people who have sensory challenges and would prefer the environment to be more muted and maybe relaxing for themselves or for their children,” said Sobeys owner Neil Kennedy.
Steps taken to ensure a calmer sensory shopping experience include dimming the lights by 35 per cent, turning off display and cooler lights, not playing any music or making any public address announcements over the loudspeaker, turning down the volume on all equipment in the store such as the beeping noises the tills make, restricting how many shopping carts are brought into the store from the parking lot, turning off non-essential equipment such as the dishwasher that can be run at another time and through employees making a conscious effort to limit the amount of noise they make.
The chain of Safeway and Sobeys stores started offering the per-location voluntary program after some Atlantic Canada Sobeys stores started a regional program after conferring with local groups dealing with individuals with sensory challenges.
The program expanded across Canada after it was found to be an easy-to-manage promotion with large customer satisfaction results.
“We jumped on this program right from the beginning and thought it was a great idea; very little effort is required on our part to provide a service that I think is obviously needed,” said Kennedy who relies on word-of-mouth to promote the service to those who may benefit from it.
Although the store may look like it’s closed on Monday nights, it is only because of the dimmed lights – the store is still open to all shoppers.
Kennedy noted that communication with customers about the program is key, especially for those customers who shop at the store during that time but who aren’t necessarily coming in for that specific program.
“Most people understand why we’re doing it, are very supportive of it and think it’s a cool idea that doesn’t take away from their shopping experience in any way.”
Although sensory shopping hours are currently only provided one night a week, Kennedy hopes the positive response from the program will help in expanding sensory shopping experiences to include a couple more nights a week, and to converse with local groups who may have constructive input to help benefit and grow the program.
Another local business, Lil Hoots Consignment Boutique, also started offering sensory shopping hours in September 2019 but has since moved to a per-request basis. Owner Denise Geremia said that having a specific day and time to hold sensory shopping hours is difficult, especially for children with special needs who can’t or won’t always follow a set schedule. The consignment store has since moved to offer private hours for sensory shopping where customers can book up to a one-hour time slot to shop with no other customers, locked doors, dimmed lights and no music.
Meanwhile, Kennedy said the Sobeys program continues to be popular. “It’s received pretty good response. I think it’s something that’s needed in the community and we’re proud to do our little part in helping out with it,” he said.