The Westgrove Group supports #PurpleTuesday

The Westgrove Group has pledged its support for #PurpleTuesday, the UK’s first accessible shopping day.

Alongside shopping centres all over the UK, Westgrove will be getting behind the #PurpleTuesday message promoting accessibility for all and taking part in the initiative on Tuesday, 13th November.

Nearly one in every five people in the UK has a disability or impairment. Their collective spending power – the Purple Pound – is worth £249 billion to the UK economy.

Westgrove Brand & Development Director Laurie Barton Wright said: “We are proud to be supporting the #PurpleTuesday initiative.

“We are working with a number of our schemes to support the initiative by providing disability awareness information so they can deliver exceptional customer service.

One of the schemes leading the way is St Johns Shopping Centre in Liverpool. The centre is the first shopping centre to be awarded Disability Confident Level 3, meaning that it is a champion for disability awareness within the local and business community.

Centre manager Neil Ashcroft said: “There are still real – and perceived – barriers that make it harder for disabled people to spend money in-store and enjoy a drink or a meal out. It’s why we are going to be celebrating Purple Tuesday throughout the centre.”

Purple Tuesday has been established to recognise the importance and needs of disabled customers and to promote inclusive shopping.

Taking place to coincide with the run up to the peak Christmas period, the event has been created by disability organisation Purple.

It had been endorsed by the Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work, and some of the UK’s biggest retail brands and retail property groups including Marks & Spencer, Argos, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Landsec and Hammerson.

The day will see retailers in stores and online introducing new measures to make shopping a more inclusive experience, sending a powerful message that they care about all their customers and that their business matters to them.

Purple Tuesday