intu Merry Hill is working with Beacon to improve visual impaired (VI) customers shopping experiences. The new scheme is being launched on 30 April at intu Merry Hill, Dudley and is designed to support those living with sight loss, with a trained member of staff or volunteer, who will help them through their shopping session.
Sophie Higgins, Beacon Partnership Development Manager, said: “Shopping with a disability can be challenging, but imagine guiding yourself and trying to understand what you are looking at and if it suites your needs. This scheme will work alongside intu Merry Hill and will be bespoke to every shopper. We want to support people living with sight loss to achieve their goals and live more independent lives.”
Naomi Campbell, Community Development Manager, said: “The team at intu Merry Hill are constantly working on improving the centre’s accessibility in order to create the best shopping experience possible so we very much look forward to partnering with Beacon to offer this additional service.”
The new VI shopping scheme will allow a person to book a slot with a trained member of staff or volunteer to support them within a two-hour shopping session. The shopping guide will be DBS checked, trained and will be based around the individual shoppers needs – and will be run once a month. The move follows discussions with intu Merry Hill and Beacon to work closer and better support the VI community in the Black Country.
VI shopping session’s will also be held every last Tuesday of every month. If you would like to book a session or find out more, please contact: enquiries@beaconvision.org