Starbucks introduces new accessibility features for store workers

Starbucks is introducing new accessibility features that the company hopes will benefit disabled employees and patrons at its new US retail locations.

Starbucks unveiled its Inclusive Spaces Framework on Feb. 16 at the newly opened store in Washington, DC’s Union Market neighborhood, and will incorporate it into all new US locations going forward. The move is part of the company’s overall strategy to make its stores more accessible to employees and customers with disabilities. It developed the features in partnership with disability organizations and the company’s disability ERG, and tested them in its trial lab in Seattle.

The new accessibility features include:

• Order status boards, for employees who may be unable to verbally alert customers when an order is ready.
• Lower counters, to help wheelchair users or people who are short easily reach coffee machines and point-of-sale systems.
• Soft lighting that reduces glare and shadows, which can impede people with visual impairments.
• Acoustics that dampen background noise, which can help employees who use hearing aids or who are neurodivergent with sensory sensitivities.
• Inclusive equipment, including a new coffee brewer with features like a larger dial, haptic confirmation, and a light, for employees with vision or hearing disabilities.

The Inclusive Spaces Framework will also be publicly available, to advance accessibility across the retail industry, Starbucks said in a press release. “Building and scaling an Inclusive Store Framework is central to our mission of connection and will lead to greater access for all,” Katie Young, SVP of store operations, said.

The new features are meant to not only make work easier for existing employees, but expand who the company can hire, Emily MacKinnon, director of inclusive design at Starbucks, explained during a tour of the Union Market location. “That was the goal of the store…being able to hire any person so they feel welcome.”