How to Fix the In-Store Experience for Neurodivergent Shoppers

When Catherine Spence was raising her neurotic son, shopping was a “fundamentally uncomfortable” experience. “It’s often too noisy, too bright, too cluttered,” she said. “We don’t go shopping for fun; we just buy what we can and hope for the best.”

Spence leads Oxford University Innovation (OUI), an incubator program that helps current and former students build and scale businesses. Given her personal experience, she was particularly interested when Neurohaus came across her desk, promising to help brands design retail experiences and workplaces that embrace neurology. Spence isn’t alone: Versace, Pandora and Goodwill are among the early adopters.

Neurohaus was co-founded in 2023 by Olly and Amelia Markeson. CEO Olly is a former brand strategist who was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia as an adult when he returned to college. Soon after, Amelia was diagnosed with ADHD and autism, and the two tried to navigate life through a neurodivergent lens, showing just how necessary Neurohaus is.

“We make very conscious decisions every day about which types of stores to go to and which types of stores to avoid, so we’re starting to recognize the impact of neurodiversity on consumer behavior,” Ollie said. “A large portion of consumers are neurodivergent — about 20 percent — but most brands ignore them. That’s a missed opportunity.”

For luxury fashion, attracting neurodiverse shoppers and employees could have huge benefits. Conservative estimates suggest that people with some form of neurodivergence (an umbrella term that includes ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia and other different ways the human brain is wired) are twice as likely to work in the creative industries. 20% of the general population is neurodivergent, about 35% of entrepreneurs are dyslexic, and 68% of the world’s highest earners (the main group of VICs) are entrepreneurs. Ollie said other communities around luxury fashion brands like Versace also tend to be overly focused on neurodivergence.

Attracting these customers is a new, rapidly evolving art. Neurohaus shares best practices for early adopters here.

Inclusion cannot be optional

Ollie said many non-fashion brands have tried to make their retail spaces more neuroinclusive in recent years, but these “well-intentioned” efforts can easily conflict with tokenism and other behaviors.

He points to the adoption of sensory kits, which include noise-canceling headphones, fidget tools and calming aids designed to help schizophrenic shoppers cope with overstimulation and overwhelming retail environments. “To get a sensory kit, you had to walk into a busy store, stand in line, and tell the cashier you were neurodivergent. The few times I tried this, I felt so different that I almost cried,” he said. “Why not just address the physical space issue so it’s not overwhelming in the first place?”