Discover how Walmart is creating a more welcoming and less stimulating environment for those with sensory disabilities during its “Sensory-Friendly Hours” this holiday season.
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (Dec. 12, 2024) – With a mission to create a culture where everyone feels they belong, while helping families save money so they can live better, Walmart continues to take meaningful steps to fulfill that promise for all who come through its doors.
This holiday season and beyond, Walmart is making shopping in its stores more inclusive for those with sensory disabilities by creating a less stimulating environment during its “Sensory-Friendly Hours,” from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. local time. During these designated hours, customers and associates will find their stores to be a little easier on the eyes and ears with static images replacing moving pictures on TVs, radios being turned off and lights lowered where possible.
The retailer introduced the pilot program last year on Saturdays for back-to-school season, and due to an overwhelmingly positive response, Walmart reinstated the initiative to occur every day across all Walmart U.S. and Puerto Rico locations. These changes are thanks to those who shared their feedback on how their stores could help them feel like they belong, and though the changes may have seemed small to some, for others it transformed the shopping experience.
“I have a child on the autism spectrum, so sensory overload is a lived experience in our house,” said Nuala O’Connor, Senior Vice President & Chief Counsel, Digital Citizenship, Walmart. “ASD (autism spectrum disorder) and other forms of neurodiversity are often an invisible disability. It’s meaningful to many families that Walmart is implementing sensory-friendly hours.”
About Walmart in Missouri
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online and through their mobile devices. In Missouri we serve customers at 156 retail units and online through Walmart Online Grocery and Walmart.com. We are proud to employ 48,500 associates in Missouri. Walmart supports local businesses, spending $9.3 billion with Missouri suppliers in fiscal year 2024 and supporting 69,678 supplier jobs. Walmart continues to be a leader in employment opportunity, sustainability, and corporate philanthropy. In fiscal year 2024, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation contributed more than $62.3 million in cash and in-kind donations to local nonprofits in Missouri. Learn more at corporate.walmart.com.
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