Retailer is introducing a weekly Quiet Hour to create a calming shopping experience for autistic children.

Following a successful pilot during February’s half term, The Entertainer is introducing a weekly Quiet Hour every Saturday in all its UK stores to create a more welcoming environment for children with autism.

Shopping trips can be a daunting experience for autistic children who can find busy crowds and loud noises overwhelming, which is why The Entertainer will be switching off the music in store for the first hour of opening.

Gary Grant, founder and managing director of The Entertainer, commented: “It was great to hear the positive feedback from customers who had visited an Entertainer store during the daily Quiet Hour, which was held during half term and as a result we are delighted to announce the introduction of a weekly Quiet Hour, which will take place each Saturday morning. We continually look for ways to improve customer experience as it’s hugely important to us that all children feel comfortable in our stores and are able to explore the toys we have available.”

Daniel Cadey, autism access development manager for The National Autistic Society, added: “We’re delighted that The Entertainer is taking this positive step to make shopping a better experience for autistic children. Small changes such as removing in-store music can make a huge difference to autistic people, who can struggle to filter out background noise which can cause them enormous distress. We hope to see other stores follow The Entertainer’s lead and make whatever changes they can to support the needs of all their customers.”

The Entertainer’s Quiet Hour is being held every Saturday morning across all 145 stores.