A Kmart store in Dunedin has started special quiet shopping hours to make shopping easier for autistic people and anyone who finds busy shops overwhelming.
Every Wednesday from 3.30pm to 5.30pm, the store turns its lights down to half brightness, switches off the radio, and plays gentle spa music instead. Staff also stop collecting trolleys and restocking shelves during that time, and only make announcements over the loudspeaker in an emergency.
Autistic advocate Josh Sime, who pushed for the change, said ordinary shopping trips can be tough. “The lights are very bright. There’s noise, constant noise, especially the radio,” he said.
He said walking into the quiet store for the first time was an emotional moment. “It’s nearly tear-bringing… it’s gone quiet enough to feel like a human,” Sime said.
Kmart’s equity and inclusion manager, Sarah Barber, said the change was about creating “a quieter and calmer environment where we adjust our business to adapt to people.”
Sime first campaigned for low-sensory shopping hours back in 2019, working alongside MP Chris Bishop to bring them to Woolworths supermarkets. Kmart has already introduced similar quiet hours at its Botany, Hamilton and Queenstown stores.
Kmart country manager Craig Baxter said the company was listening to feedback and looking at rolling the idea out to more stores. The quiet hours are expected to help not just autistic shoppers, but also parents with young children and older people who prefer a calmer environment.
Te Reo Māori
He Hāora Ohaoha Hoko mā Kmart Ōtepoti
Kua tīmata tētahi toa Kmart i Ōtepoti ki te whakarite hāora hoko ohaoha, hei āwhina i ngā tāngata autistic me ngā tāngata katoa e uaua ana ki ngā toa haruru.
Ia Rāapa, mai i te 3.30 i te ahiahi ki te 5.30, ka whakaheke te toa i ōna rama ki te haurua o te māramatanga, ka whakamutu i te reo irirangi, ka whakatangi kē i te puoro humārie. Ka mutu hoki te kohi taraka me te whakakī i ngā papa i taua wā, ā, kāore e whakapuakina he pānui mā te irirangi toa, engari mō ngā take ohorere anake.
I kī a Josh Sime, he kaikōrero mō ngā tāngata autistic, he uaua tonu te hoko toa i mua. “He tino kanapa ngā rama. He haruru, he haruru tonu, ā, tino nui te reo irirangi,” tāna i kī ai.
I kī ia he wā whakaohooho tōna wā tuatahi ki roto i te toa marino. “Ka tata pouri, engari kua marino noa iho kia rongo ai koe he tangata,” e ai ki a Sime.
I kī a Sarah Barber, te kaiwhakahaere mō te taurite me te whakauru o Kmart, he take mō te hanga i tētahi taiao marino, māmā ake, e urutau ana tā rātou pakihi ki ngā tāngata.
I tīmata a Sime ki te tautohetohe mō ēnei hāora ohaoha i te tau 2019, i te taha o te Mema Pāremata a Chris Bishop, e kawe ana ki ngā toa Woolworths. Kua whakaurua kētia e Kmart aua hāora ohaoha ki ōna toa i Botany, Hamilton me Queenstown.
I kī a Craig Baxter, te kaiwhakahaere ā-motu o Kmart, e whakarongo ana te kamupene ki ngā kōrero mai i ngā kiritaki, ā, e tirotirohia ana te whakawhānui atu ki ētahi atu toa. Ko te tūmanako ka āwhina ēnei hāora ohaoha, ehara i te mea ki ngā kaihoko autistic anake, engari hoki ki ngā mātua me ā rātou tamariki iti, me ngā kaumātua e hiahia ana ki tētahi taiao marino ake.
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