SUSTAINABILITY Customer Relations

Efforts for Creating Stores Friendly to Various Customers

As part of Lawson’s efforts for human kindness, one of the Three Promises of our business policy, we are making efforts to create a store environment that is friendly to a variety of different customers.
We will respect human rights in all areas of our business activities and build relationships of trust with all persons related to our business activities.

Basic Idea

Lawson aims to create stores that have a merchandise assortment that meets the needs of individual customers, offer products and services that are fresh and surprising, and have a pleasant atmosphere as places that customers will want to access and drop by at any time. For various customers and local residents, including persons with disabilities, elderly customers, and small children, to be able to use our stores with peace of mind, we pay attention to the safety of store facilities and pursue customer service with compassion.

Support for Persons with Hearing Impairments

Many persons with hearing impairments understand conversation through the gestures and mouth movements of others. Therefore, they have had inconvenience in communication with store staff wearing masks at counters.
To eliminate such inconvenience when shopping, Lawson has installed pointing sheets at cashiers in its stores nationwide as a tool for communication with customers since August 2022.
We have also posted a communicate board on our website and official app, as well as distributing easy sign language videos for store staff, as additional efforts to create more customer-friendly stores.

Pointing Sheets with an Ear Mark* Label

We have installed pointing sheets with an Ear mark label at cashiers in our stores nationwide, which enable customers to make requests by pointing to plastic shopping bags, cutlery, and food warming service in a microwave oven.
We have received requests from local governments and customers across the country for data on the pointing sheet so that they can use it at retail stores. Therefore, we have disclosed the data.

Download (A4 portrait, PDF)

Communications Board

The Communication Board lists selected problems during shopping in order to help customers efficiently request the purchase of products and the use of services displayed around the cashier.
The Communication Board is posted on our website and official app. Please present items on the Board on a smartphone at the stores.
The Board can also be checked by accessing the “Topics” => “Service” banner on the Lawson app.

Download (A4 portrait, PDF)

* The Ear mark is owned by the All Japan Association of Hard of Hearing and Late-Deafened People. The mark expresses having hearing impairments, as well as consideration for persons with loss of hearing or hearing impairments. We have obtained permission to use the Ear mark from the Association for posting the data.

Sign Language Videos

To help communication with persons with hearing impairments, we distribute sign language videos on store computers to enable employees to learn simple greetings, such as “Good morning” and “Hello,” as well as Lawson’s original signs for suggesting the use of the toilet or for recommending Kara-age Kun.

Support for Customers on Crutches, in a Wheelchair, or with Visual Impairments

To help customers on crutches, in a wheelchair, accompanied by an assistance dog, or with visual impairments, we take measures to enable safe and pleasant shopping, such as opening and closing the entrance door, guiding through the store floor and to products, and providing other necessary assistance.

Acceptance of Working Dogs (Assistance Dogs)

To help customers use our stores with peace of mind, we accept working dogs (assistance dogs) at all stores, including seeing-eye dogs, service dogs, and hearing dogs.

▲ Acceptance of working dogs declared on the storefront glass

Barrier-free Store Design

We promote barrier-free store design to make our stores pleasant and friendly to persons who are elderly, pregnant, or with disabilities.
In addition to efforts for eliminating steps at the entrance of newly opened stores, automatic doors are installed in certain stores. We have introduced Western-style toilets, installed handrails, and eliminated steps at the entrance of toilets.
We also provide a space for one car for customers in a wheelchair at newly opened stores that have parking spaces.

▲ A larger door has been installed to help customers enter the toilet.

To continue opening our toilets for safe use at any time and promoting an art toilet project

Lawson became the first convenience store franchise to open toilets for public use in 1997 in response to requests from customers who wanted to use the toilets at any time.
At present, about one million persons use the toilets at our stores nationwide every day.
To provide opportunities for customers to think about toilets in convenience stores, we have promoted an art toilet project since 2022, drawing art all over the toilets at three stores in Tokyo and Kanagawa timed with Toilet Day on November 10 and with World Toilet Day on November 19.
At these three stores, designs by artists from a welfare facility were developed in 2022 and three designs selected from 100 entries received from the general public were developed in 2023.
We also produced art toilets at two stores in Hokkaido, timed with World IBD Day* on May 19 of the same year.
Timed with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3 of the same year, we also produced real art toilets with artworks directly designed on the store toilets in Saga Prefecture, currently making six stores with art toilets in Japan in total.
Following the installation of art toilets, we confirmed positive effects, such as the reduced frequency of cleaning and maintenance at stores, owing to improved customer manners.
To continue opening convenience store toilets for safe use at any time, Lawson hopes to provide opportunities for customers to think about toilets in convenience stores through these initiatives.

* The World IBD Day is a day for promoting an understanding of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), where various campaigns for raising disease awareness are conducted across the world on May 19 every year.
IBD is a disease in which inflammation occurs in the mucous membrane of the intestines and the overall gastrointestinal tract, which is known to commonly develop in the teens and twenties.
The main symptoms include diarrhea, bloody stool, and abdominal pain, which have a substantial impact on patients’ daily living due to the frequent toilet visits and repeated hospitalization.

▲ Art toilets at stores in Sapporo, Hokkaido

▲ Art toilets at stores in Tokyo and Kanagawa




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