Asda has begun a trial of new technology that makes it easier for blind and partially sighted customers to navigate their way around stores and other locations.
The company’s flagship technology store in Stevenage will be the first supermarket in the UK to be integrated into the GoodMaps smartphone app. The app can pinpoint the user’s location to within a meter of accuracy and then communicate directions to an object or area via audio, enlarged visual, and touch commands.
Shoppers will be able to search for key landmarks within the store, such as the pharmacy, bathrooms, and tills. The app can also be used to find specific products on the shelves.
Whilst primarily aimed at blind and partially sighted people to help them navigate an indoor space, Asda suggested that anyone can use the app.
Kane Stephenson, Inclusion Manager at Asda, said: “We strive to be an inclusive business, and that includes making it easier for all of our customers to carry out a shop in one of our stores.
“We hope that by working with GoodMaps we can understand how we can make the in-store experience better for our blind and partially sighted customers.”
He added: “Our Stevenage store is the ideal testing ground for this tool with it already being home to a number of tech trials including electronic shelf labels and holograms, and this trial will teach us how we can make shopping in Asda easier for customers with additional needs.”
Neil Barnfather, VP Europe at GoodMaps, commented: “Recognising not only the commercial value in providing an enhanced retail experience to shoppers, but, equally the ethical stance taken by ASDA in this regard has been both humbling and demonstrative of a corporate culture determined to make their offering not only inclusive but truly outstanding for all.”
Earlier this week, it was revealed that M&S Food is set to begin trials of an app that allows users to enter a product and then be guided by an on-screen augmented reality path to its shelf location.
