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A NEW pilot program is being launched at Walmart to help a specific group of shoppers.
It will be offered through a mobile application, but it’s being rolled out slowly, so it’s not available everywhere just yet.
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The retail giant recently confirmed a partnership with Aira, a visual interpreting app that helps blind or low-vision users, per a December 3 press release.
Professional interpreters in the Aira app read text and navigation cues through a phone camera or other wearable gadgets to help those who use it get “secure access to visual information, anytime, anywhere,” per the company’s website.
Aira is offered at no cost, and Walmart seeks to keep it free while bringing the service to shoppers.
That way, blind or low-vision customers at any of its 4,606 locations nationwide or shopping online at Walmart.com receive seamless assistance getting whatever they need.
Everette Bacon, chief of blindness initiatives at Aira, noted that the company and Walmart were passionate about the expansion of the pilot program.
“Walmart and Aira are committed to ensuring that blind and low vision customers have the tools they need to shop confidently,” Bacon noted in the release.
He added that Aira and Walmart want to show consumers across the United States that the companies truly “think about the needs of the people they serve.”
“That’s a testament to the kind of service Walmart has provided for years and wants to continue to lead on.”
INDEPENDENT EXPERIENCE
Interpreters with Aira offer “objective feedback” to customers while they shop at Walmart, a crucial aspect of the process that keeps those who are shopping in control.
There’s also no time limit using the app, letting them move about the store or surf the web at their own pace and easily determine details about items they may have otherwise been unable to discern.
Everette emphasized that it would be a “freeing” feeling for visually impaired shoppers to not have to rely on employees, family, or friends for assistance and be able to shop completely on their “own terms.”
Gayatri Agnew, head of the Accessibility Center of Excellence at Walmart, emphasized that the goal for the brand was to ensure its shoppers with disabilities have the experience they’re looking for.
“The reality is, we have tons of shoppers with disabilities who we want to make sure are having as good, if not better, of a shopping experience with us as someone who doesn’t have a disability,” Agnew noted in the release.
It wouldn’t be the first time Walmart has taken steps to improve accessibility for customers, as Agnew’s role is solely dedicated to the task.
How Does Aira Work?
Aira is a mobile application that helps blind or low-vision users easily get access to information.
It uses a camera on any phone or wearable gadget to show professional interpreters the environment around the user and assists them in making decisions through objective description.
In its partnership with Walmart, shoppers will take their cameras around the store while they shop so the Aira app can help them purchase merchandise independently without assistance.
Interpreters offer more details about certain products seamlessly.
The service is free, and there’s no time limit when using it.
SHOPPING FOR ALL
In recent years, Walmart has introduced sensory-friendly shopping hours and adaptive product lines.
There are also Caroline’s Carts, specialized shopping carts to specifically assist caregivers of those with injuries, disabilities, or limited mobility, per Progressive Grocer.
Caroline Carts are expected to be available at all of Walmart’s stores by the beginning of 2025.
It’s unclear the exact date Walmart customers will see Aira, but tests began at a store in Allen, Texas, about 26 miles north of downtown Dallas, with shopper Paula Margeson.
“The more technology allows me to be independent, then the better my life works,” Margeson said of Walmart’s partnership with Aira.
“That’s a big part of what Aira does; it gives me an ever higher level of independence.”
“It was just so exciting,” she added.
Walmart said it hopes to empower and enable Margeson and all of those with disabilities who shop at its stores.
A popular service at the retail giant was also recently discounted by 50% for a limited time.
One service it offers was also blasted by a shopper as “worthless,” but Walmart advised them to look at the fine print.
