16 stores sign up for weekly quiet hour for vulnerable shoppers at The Mall in Luton

The Mall Luton’s Quiet Hour session will help shoppers who may appreciate a quieter experience, including people with autism spectrum conditions, sensory sensitivities and mental health conditions.

Taking place every Tuesday morning from 9am – 10am, The Mall hopes that introducing quieter hours will provide a more comfortable environment for anyone who struggles with the challenges of visiting a shopping centre, providing a valuable service for those who may find this to be an overwhelming experience. Quiet Hour will be well suited to autistic people who may struggle to filter out background noise, which can often be a cause for huge distress.

During this period various practices will be put in place to mitigate sensory overload. This will include switching off music and limiting tannoy messaging to emergency situations only, ensuring no fire alarm testing takes place, turning off digital screens where possible and rolling out additional training to staff members.

Lavinia Douglass, Marketing Manager at The Mall, Luton commented, “We are very pleased to announce the new Quiet Hour sessions at The Mall. We recognise the difficulties that some of our customers face for their everyday shopping trips. It’s important to us that we make our centre’s environment as inclusive as possible, and this is a small but effective way to make a difference.”

The participating stores are:

Auntie Anne’s

Cards Direct

Fruit & Veg Hub

H Samuel

Laser Clinic

M&C Nails

NM Money

O2

Sports Direct

Tesco Express

The Body Shop

The Entertainer – They offer quiet hours between 9am and 10am every day.

The Perfume Shop

Vera Jewellers

VFM

Wenzels