Budget supermarket chain Aldi has announced it'll be making changes to its shopping hours in almost 100 of its stores.
The store will be trialling quieter shopping hours in the stores starting from this week, according to The Mirror.
Changes for customers will include stopping tannoy announcements, quieter till scan sounds and signposting the dedicated times to all shoppers.
READ MORE: Aldi employees told to 'refuse customers' who decline new bag rule
The new “sensory-friendly” experience will take place every Tuesday between 6pm and 8.30pm in stores throughout Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.
The move is designed to help people with autism and anxiety, or who prefer a quieter shopping trip. The trial will run until the end of October but if successful, could be rolled out nationwide.
Vicky Metcalf, Diversity and Inclusion Director at Aldi UK, said: “Our new sensory-friendly shopping hours aim to help those who prefer a quieter shopping experience or struggle with noisy environments.
"We are committed to ensuring we are as accessible and inclusive as possible – both for shoppers and colleagues – and we look forward to receiving customer feedback on this trial to help inform our approach on a national level.”
The move comes after Tesco and Asda also brought in similar measures in its stores.
Tesco first started the scheme in 2017 with its quiet hours taking place on Wednesday and Saturday from 9am to 10am.
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Early afternoon hours between 2pm and 3pm are "quiet hours" at Asda on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Morrisons has introduced quiet hours to all its stores on Sundays between 9am and 10am.
Lidl has "Autism Aware" quiet evenings on Tuesday from 6pm until 8pm. Finally, Currys reduces noise and keep lights low until 11am every Monday to Friday.
You can also use the Google Shopping feature to see in real-time how busy a store is.
Firstly, search the shop you want to visit. Then click on the location and this will reveal extra data.
The blue shows the average number of shoppers, while the pink shows how many people are in the store at the time you're looking.
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