WDP encourages business leaders to take on “disability challenge” to mark Purple Tuesday
Donning purple to celebrate this year’s Purple Tuesday, the team at Warrington Disability Partnership & Disability Trading Company worked with Warrington BID (Business Improvement District) to raise awareness of some of the barriers facing disabled customers in their daily lives.
Initially launched in 2018, Purple Tuesday is an international call to action, focused on changing the customer experience for disabled people.
The event, involving organisations of all sizes and from all sectors, encourages companies to take decisive, practical actions to meet the needs of disabled customers, both in physical and digital stores.
Flying the flag of accessibility in the North West, Warrington Disability Partnership and its retail arm Disability Trading Company joined a number of mobility retailers and suppliers across the industry to champion the cause of enhancing customer experiences for disabled shoppers.
The organisations held a ‘Wear it Purple’ day to show support for the accessibility movement, as well as providing assistance to Warrington BID in its town centre “Purple Tuesday” event by organising a ‘Disability Challenge’.
The challenge saw business leaders tasked with shopping at locations across the town centre using mobility devices, revealing some of the daily difficulties facing consumers with disabilities.
Each business leader was required to choose an envelope which could be either a mobility scooter, powered wheelchair or manual wheelchair. They then had to choose a second envelope which had a list of tasks selected by the charity to offer them a valuable insight into the world of disability.
The creative initiative by Warrington Disability Partnership was just one of over 3500 collective pledges and activities from more than 2500 organisations aiming to bring about a step-change improvement in the awareness of the value and needs of disabled customers.
Across the UK, the Purple Pound – the consumer spending power of disabled people and their families – is worth an estimated £249 billion and worldwide, equates to a staggering £2.25 trillion, yet less than 10 percent of businesses have a targeted plan to access this growing disability market.
Dave Thompson MBE DL, WDP’s Founder and Chief Executive, commented: “Many businesses ignore the fact that there are over 13 million disabled people in the UK, and together with their families and friends they will only use services that offer inclusive facilities.
“Members of Warrington Shopmobility, a service operated by WDP, spend an estimated £750,000 each year in town-centre businesses.”
Recently, Warrington Disability Partnership reaffirmed its commitment to bricks and mortar retailing, relocating its Disability Trading Company showroom from inside Warrington’s Golden Square shopping centre to a larger outlet just outside the shopping mall to expand its portfolio of products for customers.
