The importance of accessibility in convenience stores can’t be overestimated. Steps and narrow aisles make it harder for shoppers in wheelchairs or with prams and pushchairs to enter and navigate a store, making the shopping experience inconvenient. 

Retailers need to ensure they are listening to customers with disabilities and doing what they can to make their stores as welcoming and accessible as possible. Otherwise, they risk alienating a large customer base. 

Widened aisles, turning spaces – particularly around the till – and attention to detail when it comes to shelf edges and barkers make the shopping experience safer and less hassle. “We’re mindful of what’s on the shelf and how far they stick out because an arm could catch them,” says Sophie Towers, from Kibble Bank One Stop in Burnley, Lancashire.