Walmart sets daily time for ‘less stimulating’ shopping in all U.S. stores

The stores will turn off music, make lights dimmer and set TV walls to a still image.

Walmart announced that all its U.S. stores will be presenting “a less stimulating environment” for two hours every morning.

Starting Friday, Nov. 10, from 8 to 10 a.m. everyday the stores will make changes including turning off music, making lights dimmer and setting TV walls to a still image.

Walmart said it learned during a pilot test on Saturdays in the summer that these efforts are beneficial to customers and employees who process sensory input differently.

“These changes may have seemed small to some, but for others they transformed the shopping experience,” the retailer’s blog said Tuesday.

There’s no planned end date for the sensory-friendly hours. They are not currently in effect at Sam’s Club stores.

In recent years, more retailers, gyms and entertainment venues have been establishing blocks of time when the businesses will be less bright and noisy.