The sensory gap in Australian stores

First published in Retail World Magazine

Editor’s note: This article is a partner perspective by Natalie Phillips-Mason, Founder of Inclusive Change. It draws on findings from the Inclusive Retail Pulse™: The Retail Sensory Experience, a two-wave study conducted by Inclusive Change in partnership with Nature.

For years, I’ve been in conversation with neurodivergent adults and carers of neurodivergent children about what it feels like to shop. The same themes kept coming up. Physical retail, something many people move through without much thought, can be draining, overwhelming and at times painful.  Too often, store environments are still not designed with sensory differences in mind.

When I launched Inclusive Change in 2022, addressing this inequity in shopping experiences was a priority. I wanted to spotlight a different conversation in the retail sector shaped not only by stories – but by research.

What was missing when I started this work was quantitative data. The lived experiences of neurodivergent shoppers are well documented in community conversations, and have also appeared in mainstream coverage, including Vogue Business¹, but rarely in research. The Retail Sensory Experience ^TM, produced in partnership with independent strategic advisory firm Nature, set out to quantify the experiences I’d been hearing about. With 1,206 respondents surveyed across two waves (2023 and 2025), it is the most comprehensive dataset on this topic in Australia.

At least 1 in 5 Australians is neurodivergent; a broad and diverse population including Autism, ADHD, dyslexia, acquired brain injury and PTSD, among others. The research shows, consistently and clearly, that neurodivergent shoppers are having a materially worse experience in physical stores. For retailers, that has real implications when people avoid stores or spend less time in them.

*Retail and neurodiversity: Why shops should turn down the volume. Vogue Business, August 6, 2021,

The gap is wide, and it is widening

For grocery shopping, 34% of neurodivergent shoppers say they find it difficult. Among non-neurodivergent shoppers, that number is 5%. Fifty-three per cent of neurodivergent shoppers find the pre-Christmas period difficult, compared with 41% of other shoppers. For many neurodivergent shoppers, peak retail periods are difficult enough that avoidance becomes a practical coping strategy.

These are not edge cases. There is a large group of shoppers, including carers, making a rational decision to avoid stores that are too difficult to be in. The research also suggests this group is less likely to spend time in shopping precincts. Across every category measured, the in-store experience was rated significantly lower than the experiences of non-neurodivergent shoppers. The opportunity retailers are missing is clear, even if the precise revenue impact is harder to quantify.

Noise, light, screens, clutter. The triggers are known.

Loud music or competing sounds is the top sensory barrier cited by 55% of neurodivergent shoppers as difficult, versus 30% of others. Strong smells affect 34% versus 21%. Screens playing video content: 29% versus 8%. Fluorescent lighting: 28% versus 16%. Excessive signage: 26% versus 13%. And in most retail spaces, all these elements are activated at the same time.

Many of the levers that retailers use to drive attention and purchase, such as; music, screens, lighting and clutter, can start to work against them when too much is happening at once. Alongside sensory overload, 68% of neurodivergent shoppers find it hard to ask staff for help (vs 33%). Nearly as many feel pressured when staff approach them to sell (66% vs 35%). More than half struggle to navigate stores, especially when familiar categories have shifted their position (58% vs 33%).

The changes shoppers want are not complicated

Sixty-five per cent of neurodivergent shoppers say they would be more likely to visit a retailer with staff who are familiar with neurodivergent and sensory needs. The same proportion would respond to quieter shopping hours on both weekdays and weekends. Clutter-free layouts are the top request in health and beauty (43%). Sensory-friendly hours lead in technology (45%). Self-checkouts, reduced lighting, and wayfinding tools - simple, low-cost changes - also rank consistently across categories.

And the case for action extends beyond the neurodivergent segment. Forty-eight per cent of non-neurodivergent shoppers are put off by layouts that keep changing. Forty-three per cent are frustrated by cluttered floors. Fifty-eight per cent say a quiet shopping hour would benefit them — a figure only marginally below the 70% of neurodivergent shoppers who say the same. Accessibility improvements, as is so often the case, turn out to be improvements for everyone.

For brands looking to improve the in-store experience, the first steps are fairly clear: train staff in neuroinclusive customer experience, test quieter hours, review sensory load in-store, and look closely at layout and navigation. And as the research makes clear, changes will deliver wholesale benefits for a broader customer base including migraine sufferers, older shoppers, parents navigating busy centres with children – and for neurodivergent staff too.

I started Inclusive Change because I believed that retail environments could be better for customers and for staff - more human, more considered, more genuinely welcoming. This research tells us that the gap is significant and the case for action is strong. What it needs now is brands, retailers and shopping precinct developers willing to act on it.

Small changes have the potential to deliver meaningful impact. That has always been true. Now there is the data to back it up.

Download the Inclusive Retail Pulse™ report here: Our Research - Inclusive Change and enquire about the Sensory-friendly Retail Masterclass.

By Natalie Phillips-Mason, Founder, Inclusive Change
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Research conducted in partnership with Nature

ABOUT THE RESEARCH

The Inclusive Retail Pulse™: The Retail Sensory Experience is a two-wave study conducted by strategic advisory firm Nature in August 2023 and October–November 2025, covering 1,206 respondents in total. Each wave included neurodivergent Australians (self-identified, or parents/carers of neurodivergent individuals) and non-neurodivergent Australians aged 15 and over. Research was conducted to ISO 20252:2019 and ISO 27001:2013 standards. All figures cited are statistically significant at the 95% confidence level unless otherwise stated. The research has been endorsed by Aspect Autism Friendly and the Hidden Disability Sunflower Aus/ NZ.

Notes
[1] Vogue Business, “Retail and neurodiversity: Why shops should turn down the volume,” 6 August 2021.