Carrefour Belgium’s innovation team is one to follow. Their initiatives always surprise me by their strategic forward thinking.
This time, the team has decided to tackle inclusive design – one of my current special interests.
During a first visit to their Auderghem Hypermarket location end of 2024, I was able to witness their first initiative in this specific regard.
At the time they were trialing a system to make the store accessible to the sight-impaired and blind. And to make it even more meaningful to me, they collaborated on this with a great NGO I volunteer for: Eqla!
The attached photos sadly cannot really visually “sell” the initiative since this one was clearly not designed for the eyes! Thus, the below is my best try at detailing it into words.
As you first approach the store entrance, a board welcomes you explaining the initiative and how it works. Two tools are made available to the target audience:
- A tactile model of the store layout so that sight-impaired visitors can feel and ideally create a mental map of the store plan they may then refer to during their visit
- A QR code to access and download the NaviLens app – This one allows sight-impaired visitors to use their phone as a guide in the store. It uses the camera on the phone to scan QR codes placed either on the floor or hanging from the ceiling to tell visitors where they currently are located, give them options of possible destinations to choose from and then guide them there. I personally tested it out to go to the “beauty department” and found it quite easy and pleasant to use.
Of course, I am not the target customer and so I will refrain from giving feedback on how efficient what has been put in place actually is…
I do however want to praise Carrefour for being so attentive to societal shifts and evolving customer needs. It is clear to me that the neurodivergent share of the population, already tallied at 20% today, will only grow over the coming years. Looking more specifically at the sight impaired, we are talking about 1 in a 100 people! And this number is expected to TRIPLE in the span of the coming decades due to screens, diet and genetics. It is thus high time to stop designing spaces for the majority and start designing for diversity and inclusivity.
In terms of the design aspect, I would like to add that this initiative has little to no impact on those who are not targeted, as the QR codes blend in quite comfortably in the overall store design. It is thus a rather low design impact initiative which could easily be implemented in almost all types of stores (and other public spaces).
A few weeks later, I returned to the store and was amazed to see they had taken things even further with the creation of a full “accessibility hub”. This area is dedicated to communicating Carrefour’s inclusivity charter and the actions it undertakes both internally and externally in this regard.
The hub includes a small seating area, two screens with information on the above, some wheelchair adapted shopping trolleys, a book for feedback as well as post-its and pens for suggestions. However, my favourite part of the hub remains the content relating to the sight-impairment issue. Those mockups of product aisles as seen by the sight impaired are quite triggering.
This issue alone is why I feel it’s so important to discuss inclusivity in retail design. But there are so many others. Being neurodivergent I can’t help but also wish the stores I design would actually be better suited for myself! Today the term “neurodivergence” is still widely unknown in Belgium. So imagine trying to discuss neuroinclusivity…
(Interested to learn more about this? Check out my masterclass on this specific topic!)
There is most definitely a very long way to go in terms of inclusive store design, both for physical and neurological divergences. And sadly as long as the main part of the population remains unaware and thus rather uncaring, there is little chance that retailers will take action.
And this is why Carrefour is a hero in my eyes! They are boldly innovating by bringing this issue forward, helping to educate the population. And they are bravely doing this at their own costs since there is currently limited knowledge and interest. I was most particularly impressed to see they dedicated prime rental revenue space at the entrance of their store for this specific purpose.
So here is my big thank you to Carrefour and all its partners!
You are a true inspiration.
I hope that others will take note and follow in your footsteps.
