Lidl Mullingar to trial autism friendly evenings
Lidl's store in Patrick Street has been chosen to pilot a new initiative aimed at making shopping a more pleasurable experience for people with autism.
The busy store is one of three nationwide chosen to trial autism-friendly shopping evenings every Tuesday night in August.
Lidl says that it decided to introduce the initiative following a suggestion by a member of staff who has âexperience of autism and and an appreciation for how a few simple changes can positively enhance the shopping experienceâ.
Lidl picked only three stores to trial so that they could work in close consultation with Irish Autism Action to train and brief stores ahead of undertaking these evenings. The retailer want to ensure that the experience is beneficial to families who are struggling to manage tasks such as the weekly shop. The autism friendly evenings will be every Tuesday in August from 6-8pm. Changes made to the shopping environment include dimming the lights, no announcements or music in stores and priority if there are queues at checkouts.