People navigate supermarkets through memory, not signage.
Across interviews, participants described relying heavily on positional memory and mental maps built over repeated visits. Once that internal map exists, shopping feels manageable. When layouts change — or when entering an unfamiliar store — that map collapses and frustration spikes.
Aisle signage was widely described as insufficient for rebuilding orientation. Participants noted that signs are too broad, inconsistent, or unable to meaningfully represent the complexity of what’s actually in an aisle.
“The signs on the aisles… they’re pretty useless most of the time.”
“You’re trying to encapsulate a whole aisle in a couple of words — that just doesn’t work.”
This reliance on memory explains why layout changes feel disproportionately disruptive, even when signage technically exists.
Category logic often conflicts with how people think.
Participants repeatedly described confusion caused by inconsistent categorisation: products grouped by brand, origin, promotion, or “inspiration” rather than by how people mentally associate them. Items that logically “belong together” (e.g. toothpaste with bathroom items, sauces with similar cuisines) are often separated.
“Sometimes things are sorted by brand, other times by country, other times just scattered.”
“You think you know where it should be… and it turns out it technically fits two categories.”
This mismatch forces people to scan entire aisles, double back, or abandon items altogether — especially for niche or infrequently purchased products.
Cognitive load accumulates through small frictions.
Very few interviewees described a single catastrophic problem. Instead, stress emerged through stacking micro-frictions: unclear signage, dense shelves, bright lighting, noise, crowds, promotional clutter, and time pressure.
For people with ADHD or ASD, this often translated into distraction, decision paralysis, or a strong desire to “get in and get out” as fast as possible.
“There’s just a lot going on… it’s more interactive than it needs to be.”
“I could spend an hour comparing things if I don’t have a plan.”
Even participants who did not feel overwhelmed still described shopping as something to minimise, not enjoy.
Help exists, but people avoid using it.
Asking staff for help was consistently framed as a last resort, not a support mechanism. Reasons included social anxiety, difficulty finding staff, low confidence that staff would know the answer, or previous negative experiences.
“I don’t feel confident asking — and half the time they just point to an aisle anyway.”
“It feels like I’m interrupting them.”
Notably, even when help was available, the emotional cost of asking often outweighed the perceived benefit.
Avoidance is already a coping strategy.
Several participants described actively avoiding large supermarkets, busy hours, certain aisles, or specific stores altogether. Others shopped at off-peak times, rushed their trips, or abandoned items when friction became too high.
“I just want to leave as fast as possible.”
“If it’s too busy, I’ll come back another time.”
This reinforces that accessibility issues don’t just slow people down — they change behaviour.
