Starbucks
Home facade and mural at the Starbucks Union Market location in Washington, D.C.
New York
CNN
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Starbucks has opened its first coffee shop designed to give customers with disabilities an “accessible store experience,” the company announced Friday in a press release.
The move is part of a broader, inclusive initiative by Starbucks to design retail spaces that are easier to navigate for all its customers. Any café renovated or opened in the future will begin implementing the company's “inclusive spaces framework,” she said in the statement.
Customers who frequent the new stores will notice softer interior lighting that “reduces glare, shadow patterns and backlighting,” making it easier for people to read menu items or key information within the store, according to Starbucks. The store's design will also take into account acoustics by using materials that reduce background noise or echo, which may disturb people who use hearing aids.
In recent years, a number of retailers have begun to think about shopping experiences for customers with different needs. This awareness has been heightened in part by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the face of social distancing guidelines, some retailers have segmented off specific blocks — usually early in the morning — when immunocompromised, elderly and disabled customers can do their shopping in a less crowded environment.
“The pandemic has motivated a lot of retailers to think about more inclusive retail spaces,” said Maria Towne, president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities. “The growth of grocery delivery and pickup services is also a component of mass retail, and I think more retailers have invested in these types of programs since the pandemic.”
Recently, some companies have developed protocols and features that help reduce overstimulation and sensory overload. In November, Walmart began implementing “sensory-friendly” store hours between 8 and 10 a.m., when the store's television walls display a still image, music is turned off and store lights are dimmed. The retailer said these changes were an effort to be more inclusive of customers and employees with sensory disabilities, including neurodiverse individuals.
In addition to attention to ambiance, Starbucks said the new stores will reduce front-of-house clutter with a new “continuous, unobstructed pedestrian path” that makes it easier for customers in wheelchairs or motorized scooters to get around the stores.
Counters where coffee and food are placed for pickup will also be lowered “to accommodate wheelchair access and support better communication” between workers and customers, the company said.
Other changes include a new register that has a portable, adjustable stand, images of food and drinks, as well as voice assistance and screen zoom features.
Starbucks
A remodeled Starbucks at the Union Market location in Washington, D.C.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in four American adults has a disability, a term that includes a wide range of physical and mental experiences. Although the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 codified nondiscrimination requirements for public-facing businesses in order to protect customers with disabilities, Towne says noncompliance remains a widespread problem in retail spaces.
“For retailers, basic ADA compliance remains a struggle. Whether that's wide enough aisles or making sure the restrooms are actually accessible and that patrons with disabilities can check out independently,” Town said. There were times when I was shopping and couldn't physically reach the card reader.”
Starbucks said its inclusion framework will be “open source and will be further developed to help expand access across the retail industry.” On its website, the company has a “Retail Checklist” available for download, which lays out a step-by-step plan for designing inclusive spaces that “elevate retail environments, beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
“Starbucks opening its new store built with inclusive design elements is a big moment as we try to make retail spaces more accessible and inclusive,” Tony Coelho, lead author and sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act, said in a Starbucks statement. “We have to go above and beyond to put accessibility and inclusion first to ensure all people feel like they belong in community spaces.”
The company has received criticism from disability rights activists in the past for eliminating plastic straws. But it reiterated its commitment to inclusivity this month, announcing a “goal to ensure Starbucks’ physical and digital environments meet high standards of accessibility by 2030.”
Starbucks added that it supports legislators' efforts to expand and develop the Americans with Disabilities Act, such as repealing a provision in the law that allows employers to pay workers with disabilities less than the minimum wage.
Town said it's encouraging to see Starbucks looking at these issues in a systematic, policy-oriented way.
“What I think is so great about these efforts is that they highlight a commitment to policies that help us create a more inclusive economy,” she said. “Even if we create inclusive retail spaces and experiences, it becomes less important if there is still disability bias and exclusion in our policies that prevent people with disabilities from accessing things like disposable income.”
Starbucks ( SBUX ) said last month on its earnings call that it wants to open 4% more stores in the U.S., where it currently has more than 16,000 stores. The chain last revealed a new store design in 2019 while leaving much of the similar aesthetic approach intact with the new look.
