The change means Sainsbury’s shoppers need to try on items from its TU clothing range at home
Sainsbury’s has closed all its in-store changing rooms – meaning shoppers need to try on items from its TU clothing range at home. The change was said to have been slowly introduced last September.
One shopper said: “Why on earth do you have a clothing department but no changing rooms? A staff member has just told me they have been removed from all stores?”
A second added: “What is the point selling clothes if you shut the changing rooms. First Kingsgate and now Hamilton. What a waste of my time.” A third posted: “Why have you got rid of changing rooms? I don’t want to have to buy 6 pairs of jeans to have to return 5.”
Another shopper said: “Please put back changing rooms! At least one! I went into a Sainsbury’s the other day & me & another lady were doin [sic] our best in front of a mirror on the shop floor. Couldn’t try trousers on so didn’t bother buying them.”
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson told The Sun: “Customers are increasingly choosing to try on items at home and last year we reviewed how we use our fitting room space differently to offer the best possible experience when they shop with us. Customers can return any unsuitable or faulty items during their store visits.”
It comes after Sainsbury’s closed its remaining 61 in-store cafes last month, in another major blow for shoppers. The grocer also unveiled plans to shut its remaining patisserie, hot food and pizza counters, and head office job redundancies.
At the time, Sainsbury’s said all these changes combined will result in more than 3,000 jobs being cut. Simon Roberts, Sainsbury’s chief executive, said: “As we accelerate into year two and beyond of our strategy, we are facing into a particularly challenging cost environment which means we have had to make tough choices about where we can afford to invest and where we need to do things differently to make our business more efficient and effective.
“The decisions we are announcing today are essential to ensure we continue to drive forward our momentum but have also meant some difficult choices impacting our dedicated colleagues in a number of parts of our business. We’ll be doing everything we can to support anyone impacted by today’s announcements.”
Sainsbury’s warned that tax increases from the October Budget would hit it with an extra £140million in costs and lead to higher prices for customers.
The rate of National Insurance paid by employers has risen from 13.8% to 15%, while the earnings threshold has been lowered from £9,100 per year to £5,000.
On top of this, minimum wage has also gone up. The minimum wage for workers aged 21 and over has risen from £11.44 an hour to £12.21 an hour, from £8.60 an hour to £10 an hour for those aged 18 to 20, and from £6.40 an hour to £7.55 an hour for under-18s and apprentices.