Business

Sephora quiet hours expand nationwide for sensory-friendly shopping

Published

1 month ago

1 July 2026

Sephora quiet hours expand nationwide for sensory-friendly shopping

Amanda Ensing on getting dropped by Sephora

Sephora is bringing “quiet hours” to all of its U.S. stores, the latest sign that major retailers are investing in sensory-friendly shopping experiences aimed at making stores more accessible for neurodivergent customers.

The beauty retailer announced that during designated quiet hours, stores will lower music volume, adjust in-store digital screens and minimize strong scents to create a calmer shopping environment. Sephora has not announced a nationwide schedule for the quieter shopping periods.

The nationwide rollout follows a pilot program at 32 Sephora stores across eight markets. The company said it developed the initiative alongside disability advocacy organization Open Inclusion and consultancy Purposeful Futures after gathering feedback from neurodivergent and sensory-sensitive beauty shoppers.

“Quiet Hours at Sephora is one meaningful step in our ongoing commitment to building more welcoming environments for our employees, consumers, and communities,” Deborah Yeh, Sephora’s global chief marketing officer, said in a statement.

SEPHORA’S BEAUTY INSIDER PROGRAM: HOW TO MAXIMIZE YOUR BENEFITS

The move comes as retailers increasingly view accessibility initiatives as both a customer service effort and a way to reach a broader customer base.

Walmart became the first major U.S. retailer to permanently introduce daily sensory-friendly shopping hours nationwide in 2023 after testing the concept during the back-to-school season. The retailer now offers the quieter shopping experience from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. local time each day, turning off overhead music, dimming lights where possible and displaying static images on television screens.

At the time, Walmart said the decision to make the program permanent followed overwhelmingly positive feedback from customers and employees, including associates with autism and ADHD.

“From face-to-face conversations, emails, listening sessions, social media and our personal experiences in the stores, we have seen what these changes mean for our customers and associates,” Walmart executives Denise Malloy Deaderick, Cedric Clark and Alvis Washington wrote when announcing the nationwide expansion.

DC RESTAURANT OFFERING ‘QUIET HOURS’ FOR PATRONS LOOKING TO ESCAPE BRUNCH ‘PARTY AMBIANCE’

Skincare products displayed inside a Sephora store

A Sephora store at the Docks Bruxsel shopping center in Brussels on June 25, 2026. Sephora is expanding “quiet hours” to all U.S. stores as retailers continue investing in sensory-friendly shopping experiences. (Marius Burgelman / BELGA MAG / Belga / AFP / Unknown)

Other retailers have also experimented with sensory-friendly shopping. Target has tested quieter shopping hours at select stores by dimming lights, limiting overhead announcements and reducing music, while Toys “R” Us has offered “Quiet Hour” events at some locations.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
LVMUY	LVMH MOËT HENNESSY LOUIS VUITTON SE	110.6	-2.34	-2.07%

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

Outside traditional retail, Chuck E. Cheese has operated its monthly “Sensory Sensitive Sundays” program at participating locations since 2016, opening early with dimmed lights, reduced sound and a calmer environment for families.

The programs are designed to reduce sensory triggers such as loud music, bright lighting and other in-store distractions that can make shopping more challenging for some customers.

Business

lastminute.com N.V. 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (OTCMKTS:LSMNF) 2026-08-01

Published

1 minute ago

2 August 2026

NewsAdmin

OneWater Marine Inc. (ONEW) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Seeking Alpha’s transcripts team is responsible for the development of all of our transcript-related projects. We currently publish thousands of quarterly earnings calls per quarter on our site and are continuing to grow and expand our coverage. The purpose of this profile is to allow us to share with our readers new transcript-related developments. Thanks, SA Transcripts Team

Business

Six Indian cos among BusinessWeek’s top 100 Infotech firms

Published

8 minutes ago

2 August 2026

NewsAdmin

NEW DELHI: Notwithstanding the turmoil in global economic environment, as many as six Indian firms, including Reliance Comm and Bharti Airtel, have been named among top 100 best-performing infotech companies in the world by a US magazine BusinessWeek.

The BusinessWeek’s latest annual list ‘The Infotech 100’, which ranks the firms on the basis of shareholder return, return on equity, total revenues and revenue growth, has ranked telecom major Bharti Airtel at the 21st position followed by Reddington India (55th) and RCom (66th).
The list is topped by US firms –Amazon.com and Apple– who have taken the top two spots this year. However, the magazine said in an accompanying report that “the dominance of US companies is in decline, the country has 33 companies among the IT 100 this year, down from 43 in 2007.”

Other Indian firms on the list, includes — Azim Premji-led Wipro at the 74th position, Satyam at 91 rank and HCL Technologies has been ranked at the 95th position among the list of 100 firms.

South African telecom firm MTN Group, which is in exclusive talks with Anil Ambani Group flagship firm Reliance Communications, has been ranked at the 12th position in the global list even ahead of global IT giants IBM and Microsoft, which are at 13th and 23rd ranks in the list, respectively.

Besides, the other fast emerging country China also has six companies among the top 100 Infotech companies in the world.
The magazine has compiled the information for the list by sorting through the financial results of 30,500 publicly traded companies and has ranked the technology players on four criteria –shareholder return, return on equity, total revenues and revenue growth.

The companies leading the list are those with the lowest aggregate ranking.

The companies which qualified had to have revenues of at least 300 million dollar then the collection of about 800 companies was divided into eight industry categories, such as software and semiconductors.
“Companies whose stock price has dropped more than 75 per cent, whose sales shrank, or where other developments raised questions about future performance were eliminated from contention.
“We also dropped some phone companies whose monopoly or near-monopoly power gives them an unfair advantage over competitors,” the magazine added.

Business

Treasury Warns Banks It Might Intervene in Dollar-Yen Exchange Rate

Published

16 minutes ago

2 August 2026

NewsAdmin

Treasury Warns Banks It Might Intervene in Dollar-Yen Exchange Rate

The U.S. Treasury Department has informed banks that it might make currency trades on Friday to support the Japanese yen and strengthen its exchange rate against the dollar, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The message was delivered by the Treasury to major banks on Friday via the New York Fed, which acts as the Treasury’s agent for trades in financial markets. Some banks were told to have executable trades ready to exchange Japanese yen for euros, according to people familiar with the matter. The U.S. holds some of its foreign-currency reserves in euros.

Business

Chip Stocks Are on Pace for Worst Month Since 2008

Published

22 minutes ago

2 August 2026

NewsAdmin

Stocks Little Changed After Fed Decision

Chip stocks are on track for their worst monthly performance in nearly two decades.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, or SOX, was up 2% on Friday, extending Thursday’s tech-dominated relief rally.

However, Friday’s gains were far from enough to offset what’s been a tough month for the semi group. In fact, the SOX is on track for its worst monthly performance since 2008, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Business

Wait for more signals before turning positive

Published

30 minutes ago

2 August 2026

NewsAdmin

At the recent low of 12514 points, the Sensex has tested the 12800-12000-pts support zone and has since then attempted a corrective rally. During the past trend phases in the Sensex, a monthly moving average convergence/divergence (MACD) cross-down below its trigger line, have, typically, led to a significant value erosion, with the corrective phase lasting, at least, for a year.
Therefore, immediate rallies would be interpreted as corrective in nature until the medium-term technical parameters turn positive. The recent upmove in the Sensex since the low of 12514 pts has been very sharp. The upside gap of July 23, 2008 had created a bullish ��Island Reversal Gap�� on the daily charts between 14510 pts and 14519 pts.

Normally, the implications of this on the medium-term outlook would be very positive, especially since the ��Island�� comprised of 22 trading sessions. When a stock indicates an uptrend, trades above the gap which occurs, then gaps back down and trades below the initial price, an island reversal has occurred.

However, the Sensex has since run into a strong resistance zone between 15026 pts and 15390 pts. The monthly mid-point of June 2008 is at 15026 pts. The 50% retracement level of the fall from the May 2008 peak (17735 pts) is at 15124 pts. The positive implications of the bullish ��Island Reversal Gap�� would thus get negated if the Sensex has a daily close below 14104 pts (the close on July 22, 2008). The Sensex is then expected to have an initial downside of 13513 pts, the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level of the recent rise from 12514 pts to 15130 pts.

If the bearish ��Island reversal gap�� of 14484-14568 pts is immediately filled and the Sensex manages to decisively overhaul the resistances between 15130 pts and 15390 pts, the ongoing upmove would continue. The Sensex may then test higher levels between 16618 pts and 16860 pts.

The 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level of the fall from the May 2008 peak is at 16618 pts while 16860 pts is the 50% retracement level of the entire fall from the January 2008 peak. Hence, one would await further confirmation before turning positive on the medium-term outlook.
(The author is VP of technical research at Darashaw)

Add

as a Reliable and Trusted News Source