West Ham launch new 'purple pound' initiative

  • by Staff Writer
  • Wednesday, 13th November 2019

West Ham have joined an innovative scheme designed to enhance the customer experience for disabled customers.

Every Monday morning at 10am the club will be holding what has been described as a "sensory hour", designed to make the shopping experience for supporters with certain disabilities more comfortable - as part of the 'Purple Tuesday' initiative.




"The weekly sensory hour will see the music turned down in the store, as well as the removal of as many of the sensory distractions as possible, to make the environment that little bit more accessible to those who may struggle with all the extra noise, lights and screens that are around us," read a club statement.

"As well as dialling things down as best as possible, there will also be a comfortable area for those shoppers to use if they need to just relax for a while.

"The Club will also be providing sensory satchels to help those that become anxious or who have sensory needs whilst induction loops will also be provided for people with reduced ranges of hearing, helping to reduce background noise, competing sounds, reverberation and other acoustic distortions that reduce clarity of sound."

The move had been welcomed by Mike Adams, CEO of the Purple organisation. "West Ham United is testament to what can be achieved when an organisation embraces disability inclusion and accessibility in the right way," he told whufc.com.

"Purple is very proud to be working alongside West Ham who are a Purple member, and leading the table in making a real difference to the lives of disabled people."



Mike Adams, CEO of Purple [Pic: Jay Brooks]


It is claimed that "the purple pound" - the consumer spending power of disabled people and their families - is worth £249 billion in the UK and some £2.25 trillion worldwide. Less than 10 per cent of firms have thus far adopted plans to make their businesses more accessible to the disability market.

Purple Tuesday is described as an international call to action to celebrate the purple pound and a milestone awareness moment for an issue that is relevant 365 days a year.

Purple work with major organisations such as Argos, Barclays, British Retail Consortium, Contacta, Landsec, Marks & Spencer, Revo, Sainsbury’s, The Crown Estate. Participants in the scheme are charged with committing to at least one action aimed at improving the customer experience for disabled people.

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