A Slow Walk Down the Aisle
This week on Mindshare’s Culture Vulture Live, Brooke Robinson, Director of Social Media at Mindshare Canada, explores the concept of “slow shopping” and how brands can show empathy for their consumers.
British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s recently launched “slow shopping.” They’ve designated certain hours of the week to provide additional help for senior citizens or the disabled.
The idea came from a woman whose own mother suffered from dementia. Seeing how stressful it was for her mom to shop in a crowded grocery store, the woman wanted to help others that might be facing the same difficulties. Sainsbury’s agreed to help launch this effort, offering extra assistance to the elderly or impaired to make trips to the store more comfortable. They even put chairs at the end of aisles and had employees handing out snacks!
Another example of this trend hails from Canada. Earlier this year, a CPG company donated all kinds of home products and personal care items to Syrian refugees entering the country and transitioning to a new life in Toronto. This not only showed empathy from a brand, but a caring attitude from an entire country.
These examples illustrate how both brands and shoppers are making more of an effort to relate to and help those around them. In terms of marketing, there’s a huge opportunity for brands to think boldly about how they empathize with their customers and within the culture at large.
Survey says: inclusion is in!
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