Be more purple ahead of new disability shopping day

Date Added: 07/11/2018

Get ready for Purple Tuesday on 13 November

We are encouraging local businesses to be more accessible to disabled people ahead of a new awareness day, Purple Tuesday, to be held on 13 November.

Attracting more custom from disabled people and their friends and families makes good business sense. Disabled people are vital contributors to the economy, and improving access for them to your business doesn’t have to be complicated.

The new ‘Purple Tuesday’ day is dedicated to inclusive shopping and addressing the needs of disabled consumers in the run-up to Christmas 2018. The aim is to enable and encourage shops and online retailers across the country to take steps to make their shopping experience more inclusive and accessible for disabled customers. The initiative also aims to inspire retailers to make long-term changes and improvements for disabled customers. The day is being co-ordinated by the disability charity Purple, hence the name.

The charity says that the ‘Purple Pound’ spent by disabled customers is worth £249 billion a year, yet only 10% of businesses have a targeted strategy to access this market, despite research that found disabled customers have a higher level of brand loyalty than any other customer group. So Purple Tuesday provides a huge opportunity for businesses to boost their profits by meeting an important market need.

The exact nature of the commitment is up to each individual business, but can be simple things, such as ensuring that aisles aren’t clogged up with extra seasonal stock that restricts wheelchair access, and having chairs near the check-out area so that disabled people can rest after they've waited in the extra-long payment queues that are common during the Christmas season.

There’s more information, and hints and tips to help businesses become more accessible and confident when interacting with disabled customers at:
https://purpletuesday.org.uk/resources/