Sainsbury’s offers ‘slow shopping afternoon’ to help elderly customers take their time over ‘stressful’ grocery shops
Newcastle branch of the supermarket put in place weekly slot to help vulnerable customers
A BRANCH of Sainbury's has introduced a 'slow shopping afternoon' to let vulnerable customers take their time over buying groceries.
Members of staff welcome shoppers at the door of the branch and help them fill their trolleys.
Chairs are also set up around the superstore for customers to take a break before continuing their shopping.
Two sample desks also offer tasters of popular foods like Victoria sponge, fruits and biscuits.
The trial was started at Sainsbury's Gosforth branch in Newcastle every Tuesday between 1pm and 3pm.
And it raises hopes that the idea might soon be rolled out across the country.
It began after managers at the store were approached by a daughter whose mum struggled to cope with the stress of shopping because she suffered from dementia.
Katherine Vero - whose mum Jo passed away recently - says the illness made the weekly shop "stressful and difficult".
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Deputy manager Scot McMahon said: "When my father developed cancer, I saw how hard he found shopping yet he still wanted to go to maintain his independence, so when Katherine approached me about trialling Slow Shopping I was keen to help.
"I knew Sainsbury’s would want to support it too.
"We invest a lot of time in training colleagues in how to help customers with disabilities.
"So we were well placed to go the extra step of putting out chairs and manning help points, but it’s our colleagues who really make the difference."
More than 850,000 Brits suffers from dementia and the Alzheimer's Society estimates that one in four of those have given up shopping because of the condition.
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