L'expérience utilisateur des personnes autistes adultes dans les supermarchés

Abstract

As the share of autistic people gradually increases in Belgium and France, the question of their integration in public places is incrementally discussed. In France, Carrefour started in 2021 to adapt their establishments by implementing “quiet hours”. The latter aims to reduce the sensory stimuli that experience autistic people by dimming lights and suppressing the music.

Autistic people are nevertheless still misunderstood by the general population. Moreover, researchers are yet to determine how autistic people feel whilst grocery shopping in supermarket. It is thus likely that those “quiet hours” - as well as supermarket in general - could be improved with further knowledge and awareness about autism.

That is why this master thesis explored the customer experience of autistic people. To do so, it relies on a qualitative analysis based on fifteen interviews from autistic shoppers and a discussion with the president of Autisme France.

The findings suggest that autistic people’s customer experience in supermarket is determined by three factors. The latter are the autistic people’s reaction to the sensoryscape, the layout and the crowd. Participants were sorted by their reactions to those factors as well as their customer experience in supermarket. This led three profiles to be uncovered: surfers, freedivers and helldivers.

Those results are going beyond stereotypes and highlight the diversity of the autistic spectrum. This master thesis may offer autistic people a deeper understanding of their feelings while grocery shopping. It hints towards a segmentation approach to autism inclusion rather than an “one fits all” approach. Finally, it nudges researchers to explore deeper the differences between autistic people’s differences in terms of sensory experiences.