Penneys to introduce autism-friendly shopping at Limerick stores

RETAIL giant Penneys has announced it's to introduce autism-friendly shopping experiences including sensory friendly shopping hours - beginning this coming weekend.

The company is to roll out the initiative to its 36 stores nationwide, including those at O'Connell Street in Limerick city centre and at the Crescent Shopping Centre in Dooradoyle.

The initiative has been developed in partnership with AsIAm, Ireland’s national autism charity, and aims to create an inclusive shopping experience for autistic people and their friends and families. 

Shopping & the retail environment can be an incredibly overwhelming experience for autistic people & their families, due to crowded environments & the sensory overload. We are delighted to have partnered with Penneys to make shopping more accessible. https://t.co/1Cxuq0RQe0

— AsIAm (@AsIAmIreland) November 10, 2021

Every Sunday, autistic people and those close to them can visit Penneys stores during the Sensory Friendly Shopping Hour, which is the first hour of store opening, secure in the knowledge that several measures are in place to ensure a calmer and more inclusive shopping experience.

The company says the measures include noise reduction such as silencing tills and in-store announcements and turning off in-store music. Additional assistance and support will also be offered by in-store Champions who have received specialised training from AsIAm.

As part of the Autism-Friendly Shopping Experience, Penneys has created special digital support materials which are accessible on its website to ensure that shopping is more accessible for autistic people outside of the Sensory Friendly Shopping Hour.

Commenting on the initiative, Damien O’Neill, Head of Sales at Penneys, said. "Penneys is for everyone, we want everyone to feel welcome in our stores and we understand that for some customers we need to adapt the way we work to provide a better experience. This is just one of the ways we’re doing that and we’ve learnt a lot through AsIAm  about how making some small changes can have a big impact. We are really looking forward to continuing our work with AsIAm as we work to raise awareness and understanding of autism among our colleagues and in our stores.”

AsIAm also conducted thorough audits of Penneys stores and highlighted areas of high sensory input as well as a list of  recommendations to create a more comfortable shopping experience for autistic people during all trading hours.

Adam Harris, Founder and CEO, AsIAm, commented: "Shopping and the retail environment can be an incredibly overwhelming experience for autistic people and their families, due to crowded environments and the sensory overload from noises. We are delighted in AsIAm to have partnered with Penneys to make shopping more accessible for our community."

In addition to the weekly sensory-friendly shopping hour, the organisation hopes to ensure that meaningful accommodations are in place all of the time that will enable an autistic person or their family to comfortably navigate the shopping environment.

"We are very excited to start this journey and to continue to work together in our commitment to making shopping as inclusive as possible," said Mr Harris.

As part of the rollout Penneys employees will receive training supported by AsIAm. This training will be delivered through a custom-built Autism Awareness e-learning module, which will be hosted on Penneys’ digital learning platform.

WATCH: New chapter for Limerick city library as it re-opens its doors