Shopping habits will vary depending on your mobility, travel skills, general health, and preferences for merchandise. These are some tips and tricks that will make shopping more accessible and enjoyable.
General Shopping Tips
Make a list of everything you will need before leaving your home. See
Produce can often be found near the entrance to the store.
Usually, packaged baked goods can be found near the dairy aisle.
Frozen foods can often be found in freezer cases in the middle of the store.
Usually, fast-moving and high-demand items can be found at eye level.
MoreMore expensive items are often located near high-demand objects to encourage impulse buying to promote impulse buying.
If the store has its bakery, it will usually be located at the back or near the entrance.
You can order groceries online or over the phone. For more information, ask your local grocery store. While some smaller grocery stores may deliver your orders, others do not.
When you bring your groceries home, you’ll need to label them and organize them. See Labeling & Marking”.
Shopping for clothing
Shopping for clothes can be a fun experience if you enjoy shopping and staying up to date with fashion trends.
Talk about the latest trends with your family and friends. Get some ideas about your favorite colors and styles before you head out on a shopping trip.
Large department stores offer “Personal Shopper” services to their customers. Personal shoppers can assist you in finding merchandise, reading labels, and determining prices. They also add a personal touch to your buying process. This service is generally free. Still, you will need to confirm before making an appointment.
Low Vision Tips
A lightweight, compact magnifier can help those with low vision. The lighting in many stores isn’t sufficient to read labels and price tags and identify money.
You can either keep a handheld magnifier in your pocket, or you can hang it from a string around your neck.
A small handheld telescope helps read prices and spot aisle signs.
The overall color of the item and the label design can be used to identify it. For example, Campbell’s soup cans have a distinct design and a red-and-white color.
Low Vision Devices has more information on the complete range of magnifiers, magnifying reading glasses, and handheld telescopes available to assist you in reading if you have low vision.
Paying for your Purchases: How to Organize Your Money
You can organize your money by separating your bills by denomination (1.00, $5.00, and $10.00, respectively), enabling you to distinguish statements when you pay the clerk or store manager.
An adaptive wallet can be used with different denominations. A bill-folding system can also be used to identify paper money.
Try to buy bills that are close to the purchase amount. This will reduce the amount you need to sort and identify.
Tell the cashier or store clerk which denominations of bills you use as payment. Then ask the clerk to identify each account or coin denomination being returned to you. This will help you to identify and classify the coins and bills you receive as change.
See Money Identification”.
See Using Bank Services and Credit Cards”.
You can only carry one bill denomination.
Another option is only to carry one denomination of the bill (e.g., a $10.00 bill) and then tell the cashier or clerk what bill(s) you are presenting for payment.
You can, for example, say, “I am giving two $10.00 bills” to give you control of the transaction and show that you are aware of all the bills.
