Making minor changes to make the in-person retail shopping experience more accessible means more shoppers, and more sales this holiday season.

Giving everyone fair access to shop, said advocate and founder of Level Playing Field, Darby Lee Young, is good for customers and good for business.

Disabled customers are a market that is sometimes ignored by retailers and yet they have money to spend, said Young. An estimated eight to 10 per cent of Calgarians have some form of mobility disability.

“We need to remember that people are people, and we need to understand that just because I’m in a wheelchair or on my scooter doesn’t mean I don’t have the money to shop,” said Young.

“We need to start seeing people for people and allow people to go in and purchase what they’d like.”

The pitch to retailers this holiday season, she said, was to take a chance on making their stores more accessible and welcoming to people with mobility challenges—after all, everyone is at some point in need of greater accessibility.

“When we talk about accessible, it’s everyone, because everyone no matter what is temporarily disabled… sooner or later you’re going to end up like me, whether it’s a skiing accident, whether it’s stepping off the curb, or just age. It’s all about people, not the disability first,” Young said.

“When we do that, then the focus completely changes because everyone needs to have that same feeling of being warm and welcome.”

Shopping that is accessible is more profitable

Young used the example of Uniqlo at Chinook Mall, as an example of a retailer that does things right: Wide hallways, accessible products that can be reached no matter a person’s height, and payment systems that can also be used no matter a person’s height.

“It’s all about layout, but it’s also having the staff understand that they can support individuals when they come into the store and not make them feel like they’re not welcome,” Young said.

“I know a lot of the times we’re shopping online, but when we look at clothing that’s very difficult, because everything fits differently whether I buy from a certain store next door—it’s all different. Having the ability and the respect to be able to go in and shop and pick out items is the best way to do it.”

In turn, she said, those stores that make the effort to be accessible will get more business from making those minor changes to the shopping experience.

Darren Milne, General Manager for CF Chinook Centre, said that the mall has worked with Young to increase the accessibility of shoppers beyond just the mandatory code requirements.

“We often work with Darby on any kinds of construction projects that we’re doing to make sure that they not only meet code, but she provides us an excellent perspective on how to accommodate individuals with disabilities as we move forward through those construction projects,” he said.

“The important thing for CF Chinook Centre is that we’re providing a shopping experience that is positive for everybody, regardless of their disability. We want to make sure specifically that the mall continues to be accessible, and not just the mall but our retailers as well.”

He said that happens when new tenants move into retail locations, and the mall works with those retailers on design elements around storefronts and store layouts.

“We have to approve their design their storefront, and so we make sure that accessibility is addressed as part of that process as part of our approval process,” he said.

As a result, he said, when that work is done upfront, it becomes a regular part of providing accessibility every day to customers.