ELDERLY residents in Frome are celebrating this week after Sainsbury’s joined a campaign to help older shoppers.
The Standing Up 4 Sitting Down (su4sd) calls for retailers to maintain the amount of seating available in-store so that older and disabled people, pregnant women or anyone who needs to can rest mid-shop.
More than 600 Sainsbury’s stores – including Frome – have joined the campaign – launched by Anchor, England’s largest not-for-profit provider of housing and care for older people.
Anchor launched the campaign after research found that 69% of over 70s said the amount of seating in public places across the country is falling with 66% believing the lack of seating in shopping areas is a problem.
Shoppers visiting Sainsbury’s in Wessex Fields, which will be displaying the su4sd sticker, are being encouraged to use the seating by the tills.
Jeff Varker, manager of Kyngeston Court, an Anchor home in Warminster said, “It is great that 600 Sainsbury’s branches across the country, including the one in Frome, will support the Standing Up 4 Sitting Down campaign.
“Older people are often cut off from the online world, so it’s crucial we enable them to connect in other ways.
“Anchor’s campaign calls for change that benefits everyone. For shops, providing seating is a great opportunity to boost footfall and spending. For older people, it offers the opportunity for important social contact to tackle loneliness, encourages physical exercise, and allows a generation the chance to live later life to its fullest.”
Clare Muscutt, head of customer experience at Sainsbury’s said, “We work hard to make our supermarkets an inclusive and welcoming environment for customers.
“We provide chairs at the back of our checkouts for anyone that would find them useful, as well as offering assistance at all times to customers who may need additional help shopping in store with us. We fully support the Standing Up 4 Sitting Down campaign and hope customers will make use of this seating when they visit our supermarkets.”
The su4sd campaign has also been supported by Debenhams, Hotter, and more than 200 independent retailers across England. More than 15 charities and several MPs and the former Chancellor George Osborne have supported the campaign.
Jeff Varker said that if any other retailers wanted to join the campaign, pledging to maintain the number of seats they have available for shoppers to use, they can contact the su4sdteam at communica tions.team@anchor.org.uk.
