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Bright lights, jarring announcements and rattling trolleys can turn shopping into an ordeal for many Kiwis, but trips to Kmart in Dunedin have just gotten a bit easier after an autistic advocate's appeal.
The city's Kmart has introduced low-sensory shopping hours every Wednesday. Instead of speeches and fanfare, the store's quiet hours feature dimmer lights and reduced noise.
Autistic advocate Josh Sime had been steering clear of the store.
"The lights are very bright. There's noise, constant noise, especially the radio. But the bright lights are the biggest deterrent for me," he said.
"The amount of people as well, it can feel a bit more overwhelming when you've got all these other sensory things going on."
The world had not been built for disabled people but no one should feel their freedom was limited because of their disability, he said.
So Sime got in touch with Kmart about introducing low-sensory hours at the store - and was delighted when the company got onboard and did an in-store trial.
It recently announced the Dunedin store would have low-sensory hours every Wednesday between 3.30pm and 5.30pm.
Sime welcomed the news and said he was not alone.
"It's not just beneficial for disabled people. While that is the main goal, there have been good feedback from those that have children, the elderly have had good feedback to say about sensory hours. So it's a lot of people," Sime said.
In 2019, Sime campaigned for a law change with Lower Hutt MP Chris Bishop so Woolworths (formerly Countdown) would have low-sensory hours at its stores.
It went to select committee but did not become law, however the shopping giant made the change in 2019.
Kmart first introduced low-sensory shopping the same year and has since rolled it out at selected stores including Botany, Hamilton and Queenstown.
Its equity and inclusion manager Sarah Barber said the changes helped create a more predictable environment.
"It's about a quieter and calmer environment where we adjust our business to adapt to people who are looking for that lower sensory environment," she said.
"So lighting will be turned down to 50%, the store radio will be turned off and in its place will have low spa music playing. We have trialled no sound but that felt too quiet."
Trolley collections and activity on the shop floor would also be limited and PA announcements would be avoided unless there was an emergency.
When the low-sensory hours started, Sime said he felt like he could think again.
"It's very different. It's nearly tear-bringing," he said.
"(My brain's) just gone into a quiet mode ... it's gone quiet enough ... to feel like a human."
Kmart New Zealand country manager Craig Baxter said it was Simes' feedback that prompted the change.
"I'm just so excited that we were able to connect with Josh, listen to our customer and start to embed something in Dunedin at this stage that's a really important connection point to the community and our customer base," he said.
"I think it shows that we do listen."
He was keen to roll out low-sensory hours in more stores, but said it would take some time and they would engage with the community first.
