A supermarket is to begin trialling sensory-friendly shopping hours with a view to rolling them out to all shops.

Aldi is making the changes to support shoppers, such as those with autism, who struggle with noisy environments.

Changes in store during the designated times - to make the experience of shopping a less anxious one - will include stopping all loudspeaker store announcements during the session and quieter till scan sounds.

From this week until the end of October the system is to be experimented with in 100 supermarkets in England, every Tuesday between 6pm and 8.30pm.

If the initiative proves to be successful, sensory-friendly shopping hours will be rolled out to all of Aldi’s UK stores the retailer has confirmed.

None of the trial sessions are taking place in Kent.

Vicky Metcalf, diversity and inclusion director at Aldi UK, said: “Our new sensory-friendly shopping hours aim to help those who prefer a quieter shopping experience or struggle with noisy environments.

“We are committed to ensuring we are as accessible and inclusive as possible – both for shoppers and colleagues – and we look forward to receiving customer feedback on this trial to help inform our approach on a national level.”

Asda holds a ‘quieter hour’ in its stores between 2pm and 3pm on Monday and Thursday afternoons. At Morrisons this takes place between 9am and 10am on Saturday mornings.