OXFORDSHIRE'S Morrisons stores are to introduce a quiet hour for customers who would value shopping in a calmer environment.

Designed to help customers who struggle with the loudness associated with supermarket shopping, the initiative will run every Saturday in the stores, from 9am - 10am.

The company has stores in Banbury and Carterton.

During the period, the store will:

  • Dim the lights
  • Turn music and radio off
  • Avoid making tannoy announcements
  • Reduce movement of trolleys and baskets
  • Turn checkout beeps and other electrical noises down
  •  Place a poster outside to tell customers it’s Quieter Hour.

The 'Quieter Hour' scheme has been created with the support of the National Autistic Society, who say many autistic people can find shopping in a supermarket an anxious experience.

Morrisons carried out a trial earlier in the year in three of its stores to find out what improvements can be made and to find a convenient time each week for the hour to take place.

The chain found that one in five had a friend or family member with autism and many appreciated the option to shop at that time on a Saturday.

Daniel Cadey, from the National Autistic Society said: “Around 700,000 people are on the autism spectrum in the UK. This means they see, hear and feel the world differently to other people, often in a more intense way. Morrisons ‘Quieter Hour’ is a step in the right direction for autistic people who find supermarket shopping a real struggle.”

Carl Price, from Morrisons Carterton, said: “Our initial trials showed there is a need for a quieter shopping experience. We hope that these changes make a real difference for some of our customers at our store.”

More information on the quieter hour is available at my.morrisons.com/blog/community/quieter-hour/.