"Silent hour" - Supermarket switches to quiet for low-noise shopping
Silent shopping is also gaining ground in more and more stores in Bremen and Lower Saxony. Recently, a "silent hour" in a supermarket in the East Frisian town of Pewsum (Aurich district) has been offering customers the opportunity to shop at a lower noise level every Friday evening. Announcements and shopping music, for example, are then dispensed with, as is the restocking of shelves. The offer is particularly aimed at customers who feel burdened by too much noise - people with autism or attention deficit disorder (ADD), for example. "It's not much work, but it has a big effect," said Frank Fahr, chairman of the "Heel wat besünners" association, which came up with the idea for the campaign.
For people with forms of autism, the usual hustle and bustle and background noise in supermarkets is a major challenge. "Concentration is blown away," says Fahr, describing the situation for people who are sensitive to stimuli. The strain on the head takes a lot of energy. Those affected tend to avoid shopping. This makes it all the more important that there are offers for low-stimulus shopping, said Fahr. His association for people on the autism spectrum met with interest from the supermarket manager with the idea.
However, the offer is not only aimed at people on the autism spectrum, emphasized Fahr. Of course, anyone can shop - especially if they "just want to shop in peace".
So far, "silent shopping offers" can mainly be found in larger cities - in Bremen and Hanover, for example, supermarkets offer "silent hours". The Lower Saxony-Bremen Trade Association has no figures on how many stores and businesses are participating across the state. However, the association has seen a growing awareness among retailers for this type of low-stimulus shopping in recent years. "I know from various sectors that there are players who are definitely opening up to this area," said Managing Director Mark Alexander Krack when asked.
There are such campaigns in food retail and clothing stores, for example. Medical supply stores, for example, have long been concerned about a quieter shopping environment. These stores have had the issue on their agenda for some time anyway because of their customers, said Krack. With "silent shopping", retailers are not only fulfilling their social responsibility to make shopping as convenient as possible for all groups - such offers are also good advertising for the stores themselves.
The Bünting group of companies from Leer, to which the Combi store in Pewsum belongs, said in response to an inquiry that the feedback from customers on "silent shopping" so far has been "consistently positive". For the store itself, the campaign is hardly associated with any effort. So far, however, the store in Pewsum is the only one in the group to offer this form of low-stimulus shopping.
According to the "Heel wat besünners" association, the offer in Pewsum is unique in East Frisia. The association would like more stores to take part on different days. This would give autistic people more choice, said chairman Fahr.
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Source: www.stern.de
