Tesco has implemented measures to make shopping in stores easier for its blind and partially sighted customers with a new app.
The supermarket has partnered with customer accessibility management platform Be My Eyes for a six-month pilot project.
The Danish mobile app aims to help blind and visually impaired people recognise objects and manage everyday situations.
An online community of sighted volunteers receive photos or videos from randomly assigned affected individuals and assist via live chat.
Through the collaboration, customers will use Be My Eyes to connect directly with Tesco colleagues via the app to receive personalised assistance when shopping.
Tesco claims it is the first major supermarket in Europe to join Be My Eyes and offer on-demand support for blind and partially sighted customers.
Through the platform, Tesco said blind and partially sighted customers can identify products on the shelf and confirm correct sizes, variants or expiry dates.
Additionally, the service allows customers to verify special Clubcard offers, promotions and rewards, receive assistance with self-service checkouts, and request immediate support from customer service teams in real time.
Tesco said that the six-month pilot will integrate Be My Eyes into Tesco’s in-store support services, ensuring that blind and partially sighted customers can shop with greater confidence, independence and ease.
“Everyone is welcome at Tesco, and with Be My Eyes, we can help support visually impaired customers by connecting them with a Tesco colleague for live, in-store support using a simple video call,” said Russell Price, chair of disability network at Tesco. “This trial, launching on World Sight Day, aims to help make shopping at Tesco even more welcoming and accessible for our blind or partially sighted customers, even when shopping independently.”
Tesco said the partnership ensures retail is accessible to everyone and marks an important step towards building a more inclusive retail environment.
Tesco is also launching a new accessibility feature on all self-service checkouts in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
This will allow customers to further adjust the colour contrast and text size to suit their needs by simply tapping the accessibility button to switch to a high contrast mode or larger text for easier reading.
“It’s a great example of the incremental (and hopefully transformational) changes we can do now we have our amazing new till platform at scale across multiple countries,” said Sarah Quiggin, head of product, store and customer transactions at Tesco. “We know there’s so much more we could do but this is a big step forward.”
