Popular supermarket Aldi will be trialling sensory-friendly shopping hours to support its customers across Yorkshire from this week.

From now until the end of October 2023, almost 100 stores across additional regions such as Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire will offer a quieter shopping experience every Tuesday between 6pm and 8.30pm.

If the scheme is found to be successful, the initiative will be rolled out to all of Aldi’s UK stores.

What changes will Aldi make during sensory-friendly shopping hours?

The changes at Aldi during sensory-friendly shopping hours involve stopping tannoy announcements, quieter till scan sounds, and signposting the dedicated times to all customers.

Vicky Metcalf, diversity and inclusion director at Aldi UK, said: “Our new sensory-friendly shopping hours aim to help those who prefer a quieter shopping experience or struggle with noisy environments.

“We are committed to ensuring we are as accessible and inclusive as possible – both for shoppers and colleagues – and we look forward to receiving customer feedback on this trial to help inform our approach on a national level.”

Aldi also recognises the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower to help support customers and colleagues with non-visible disabilities.

Colleagues have also undergone training around hidden disabilities and the Sunflower symbol, so they can offer additional assistance to those who may require it.

Aldi is removing ‘Use By’ dates from its fresh milk to help reduce food waste

The supermarket will instead begin using ‘Best Before’ dates on milk bottles (except for filtered milk) across its stores in England and Wales to prevent milk from being thrown away unnecessarily.

The changes will start rolling out in stores by the end of the year.

According to waste reduction charity WRAP, nearly 300,000 tonnes of milk is wasted by UK households each year, with half of households stating that the reason for pouring it away is due to it not being consumed by the Use By date.

Milk can be safe to use past its Best Before date, provided it has been stored properly and doesn’t smell bad.

Therefore, Aldi will encourage shoppers to perform a ‘sniff test’ to determine whether their milk is still fine to consume.