Earlier this year, research from Euan’s Guide, a disabled access review website, revealed that venues across the UK aren’t accessible enough for disabled people. It was the largest study of its kind in the UK and it included very damning statistics, such as 74% of respondents stating that they’d had disappointing trips or cancelled trips entirely due to poor accessibility.
However, it’s not just day trips that are inaccessible to many disabled people – just popping to the shops can cause difficulties for people.
In fact this week, Ruth Mutch, an artist and wheelchair user from Glasgow highlighted to M&S that the placements of baskets at the base of coolers in food halls can make reaching products a lot more difficult for disabled people.
To their credit, M&S did respond saying that they’d look into this and when speaking to HuffPost UK, Mutch added that while this was frustrating, she did appreciate the accessibility efforts that had been put in place in the supermarket, ”I very much appreciated that the expanded/refurbished M&S Simply Food store I went into had wide aisles, and an accessible self checkout”
She added that the checkout assistant was excited to see her use the accessible self-checkout, as she was the first wheelchair user to use it. She says she did find it easier than the regular checkouts which “seem to have been designed by tall people!”.
How supermarkets can improve accessibility for disabled people
Of course, there is always room for improvement and there are still major issues with accessibility throughout UK supermarkets. A survey released in 2019 found that of the major grocers, including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose and Asda, six in 10 do not have a fully accessible toilet with all the equipment people need.
Toilet accessibility alone is essential for people with muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke, and people with severe and multiple learning disabilities, just to name a few.
This is all so ableist and frustrating, especially when we consider that 24% of people in the UK are disabled.
We asked Mutch, as somebody who is autistic and has Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, what she thinks can be done to improve accessibility in supermarkets, and she provided the following advice:
- Make sure wheelchair users can wheel right up to the shelves/coolers without any obstructions like basket displays (this is also helpful for other disabled people as well as shorter or elderly people)
- Ensure aisles are wide enough for wheelchair users, buggies, trolleys and walking frames to pass each other
- Don’t place free standing displays where they will block access to aisles or checkouts
- Provide accessible self checkouts – at least one that is lower and has a cut-out area to allow wheelchair users to reach the screen easily
- Offer assistance with packing bags if needed/requested, or if the checkouts aren’t accessible
- If the store has toilets, make sure they are checked regularly and are accessible
- If there is ‘scan as you shop’ or similar available, make sure there is a lower screen and lower scanners available for wheelchair users
- To be more inviting to those with sensory issues, either don’t have background music playing, or play it at a low volume. (Especially at Christmas!)
- Provide wheelchair trolleys but understand that they don’t fit all wheelchairs and some people might prefer putting a basket or bag on their lap instead
Additionally, to learn more about the accessibility of shops near you, Euan’s Guide provides disabled access information for shops and venues across the UK.
HuffPost UK reached out to M&S for comment and their spokesperson said,
“We try hard to make sure our stores are accessible for everyone but it’s always helpful to receive feedback from our customers. We are looking into the concerns raised about the baskets and in the meantime, our store colleagues are always on hand to help.”