On one hand, it’s nice to see that we can have noice-canceling headphones, selective earplugs and other kinds of solutions to help #autistic and other #neurodivergent folks to reduce sensory overload in public places, but I can’t help but think that we should address the problem from the other side: to not create that overload to begin with.
Ok, I get the need for bright light in a shop: you really want to see what you’re buying, you want to choose a fruit/veggie without signs of spoiling, be able to read the label clearly etc.
But all that loud music? Is there really any value in it for the stores? Why do they keep playing it? Were there some actual real studies that have shown that putting on music increases sales?
Like, I have seen many times(and was myself) people leaving store sooner, even without the things they went for, because they couldn’t stand that loud music anymore, but I haven’t seen anyone actually staying in a shopping mall longer because they liked music or something.
So, is there any actual profit for stores in it, or are they just doing that because everyone is used to it?
Does also anyone know if there have been any studies/works on the sensory overload modern cities put on people and ways to reduce it without making things harder for other members of society? @actuallyautistic
@olena@actuallyautistic a few years ago when I first heard about those initiatives, I thought, “I’d like that!” That was before I realised I was autistic.. . 😁
@olena Sorry, I know nothing about influence of music on autistic people, but as an average buyer I can tell you that quiet music (not loud!) highly improves the mood and makes shopping a far more pleasant experience. I'm telling because I lived in Ukraine, Germany, and now France. In Ukraine there is music, in France there is music, in Germany there is almost never. And that experience was not great, believe me.
@olena@actuallyautistic
On Saturday, after a quick change of heart, I literally drove past #Sainsbury to get to #Tesco because Tesco's #BackgroundMusic is less bad. I'm sure Sainsbury knows its business and has optimised everything to a T, but I cannot be doing with it.
@olena@actuallyautistic I want to say that it does boil down to profitability studies done in a business setting without respect to neuro differences. Businesses aim to make a profit, they won't care about the human/psychological cost unless made to. Even if there are good folks in leadership, responsibility to shareholders will often trump the desire to "do good".
@arcadetoken@actuallyautistic I mean, were there actually studies showing that that is profitable for modern shopping malls/supermarkets? I genuinely wonder how would it work even on neurotypical folks
@olena@actuallyautistic In general, yes, I did a quick spot check and there were a lot of results for music in supermarkets in particular. Modern or for malls, not so sure. I wasn't able to find anything on the effect on neurodivergent shoppers.
@arcadetoken@actuallyautistic I have seen the ones studying the effect of a genre of music(funnily, with contradicting results: one suggested that slow-pace music makes customers walk slower and spend more time in a store making them buy more, another one claimed that fast-paced one activates variety-seeking behavior and therefore sales), and one that studied effect of employee’s music choices on sales(carried in fashion shops, which claimed they drop by 6% if employees are to choose what to play and that employees prefer music to silence), but haven’t find a conclusive one regarding silence/music
@olena@actuallyautistic Our nearest Morrisons (UK supermarket) has an autistic friendly hour (one whole hour in the week) on a Saturday morning. The tills don't beep, there's no music and the lights are lower.
@callunavulgaris@actuallyautistic I've heard of such initiatives, and I am always wondering: why not keep that as a default option?
Also, it would be well… funny… if all the autistic people came shopping during that single hour.
Also, is that hour at least in time when it can actually be used? Or is it somewhere midday Wednesday?
@olena@actuallyautistic It's earlyish Saturday morning, 9 o'clock or something like that. My dad goes then anyway but he likes it being quiet. Although he's quite successful socially I suspect he's where I get my autism as he has lots of autistic traits.
@callunavulgaris@olena@actuallyautistic
Our local Tesco has two quiet hours a week; the one I use starts at 9am on a Saturday. Unfortunately, I'd missed it by the time I knew I needed to go shopping on Saturday. 😟
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