An Orillia grocery store is offering “sensory-friendly shopping” to make the experience easier for those who are sensitive to lights and sounds.
Orillia Foodland owners Lori and Max Foster decided to give it a try after attending a conference and hearing from others who had done the same.
Parent company Sobeys doesn’t require individual stores to offer sensory-friendly shopping, but the Fosters wanted to see how it went, so they started it about five weeks ago.
“We’ve definitely had positive feedback — more than I thought we’d have,” said Lori. “We’ve had customers come back to say how much they appreciate it.”
One of those customers was a woman who shopped there with her three grandchildren, who are on the autism spectrum.
“We realized this really is a big deal for people,” Lori said.
Every Tuesday, from 7 to 9 p.m., some of the lights are turned off, the PA system is not used, shopping carts are not collected inside, the sound of the product scanners is turned off, and staff are asked to keep noise levels down.
“I thought this could help more than just people with autism,” Lori said. “A lot of people do better when the stimulus is less.”
Given the feedback so far, “we’re going to do this from now on,” she said.
