Retailers asked to support customers with sight loss during pandemic

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has created new best practice guidance, outlining how measures introduced to keep customers safe can be made accessible. The guidance also aims to improve understanding of the challenges being faced by blind and partially sighted customers as lockdown restrictions ease.

Measures such as social distancing have turned the world upside down for people with sight loss, with one-way systems in shops being almost impossible for those with a vision impairment to navigate.

Some key points from the guidance include introducing audio announcements, colour contrasting signs and tactile markers to aid navigation in queues, and around one-way systems, as well as how to better support and communicate with blind and partially sighted people.

Marc Powell, strategic accessibility lead at RNIB, said: “As lockdown eases, we want to ensure that those working in the retail industry are fully aware of the challenges being faced by blind and partially sighted people during this time, and to know how they can best provide support.

“We’re hearing daily from blind and partially sighted people that they are incredibly anxious about how to manage the situation when going to the shops or supermarkets. This has the potential to have a real impact on people’s quality of life. We hope these simple, implementable measures outlined in our best practice guidance will make life easier for blind and partially sighted people at this time.”

Aldi UK has collaborated with the RNIB to trial the addition of audio prompts to its traffic light entry system, to help blind and partially-sighted customers safely enter its stores and maintain social distancing. As well as signalling when shoppers can enter stores based on individual store customer limits, the updated traffic light system will use a series of beeps to let blind and partially-sighted customers know when they can safely go in.

Richard Thornton, communications director at Aldi UK, said: “We are always looking at how we can enhance the shopping experience for our customers and ensure government guidance is strictly followed. We are pleased to have worked with RNIB and Ocucon to trial audio prompts within our traffic light system to help visually impaired customers shop safely with us, and we will continue to review this.”