Many shops are making it easier for blind and partially sighted people to shop and the number of these is increasing all the time.
Debenhams
Debenhams have worked with RNIB to develop an enhanced personal shopping service that is designed specifically for customers with sight loss.
The personal shopping service at Debenhams is free and easy-to-use. After booking an appointment at one of the 134 stores that offer the service, customers are met by their personal shopper at a pre-agreed meeting point. The personal shopper then takes the customer to a private room to find out what they're looking for and how much they want to spend, before bringing a selection of clothes to try on.
All of the personal shoppers have been trained on how to guide customers with sight loss and how to describe the colour and shape of clothing in a meaningful way.
Find out more about Debenhams personal shopping service
L'Occitane en Provence
L'Occitane en Provence, the natural beauty products store, have been adding braille labels to their products since 1997, offering blind and partially sighted customers the opportunity to easily find individual products and identify product ranges.L'Occitane estimates that 80 per cent of their products now have braille labels.
Those products that don't have braille labels are not labelled because of packaging restrictions, for example travel size products are too small to include braille labels. L'Occitane en Provence has 54 stores in the UK and they also sell their products in high street stores John Lewis and Debenhams.
A Suit That Fits
A Suit That Fits is offering a combined in-store and internet shopping experience that is making it easier to order clothing that fits without always having to visit a store.
A Suit That Fits is a bespoke suit retailer which makes customised men's and women's formal wear. Their "pop up" stores across the country offer customers the chance to meet with tailors who listen to your requests and then offer style and fabric consultations.
The tailors will also record your measurements so that you can go online again and again to order your clothes with the reassuring knowledge that you know they'll fit.
Sainsbury's
Sainsbury's is leading the way in making shopping a much more enjoyable experience for its blind and partially sighted customers by providing staff assistance during your shop and some stores have added braille labelling.
Sainsbury's are offering an assisted shopping service in all of their stores which can be pre-booked or requested on arrival at a store. All staff have been trained to assist blind or partially sighted customers around the store, when packing bags and when getting transport home. Sainsbury's staff are available to help, whether you're doing a small shop or a large monthly shop. Also, after consulting with the local community, Sainsbury's Woolton store have installed braille signage.
Clare Ellis, Customer Experience Manager for Sainsbury's has spoken about the importance of the braille signage:
"Our extensive research has helped us to create signage which we know will make it easier for the store's blind and partially sighted customers. This really shows that we are delivering a great customer experience to all our customers and offering a more inclusive environment to the local community."