Ergonomic design of store shelving for the elderly applying universal design with a focus on health and safety

The article outlines the results of an observations and focus group interview methods. Use of design thinking techniques also generates insights and solutions to the problems present in elderly needs. This method has been chosen as it supports the researcher in studying behavior within a natural setting over a long period of time. It also represents a dynamic picture of the life of the targeted elderly consumer. The ethnographic study findings and biomechanical modeling enriched with the heuristic approach are used in developing solutions to facilitate customer flow, trolleys and baskets, store layout and aisles, shelves and freezers, merchandised products, customer service and checkout, and the development of which is grounded in the principles of universal design. The article contains a summary of the existing solutions facilitating the typical supermarket as well as allowing to obtain data in this respect for the elderly. Approach of universal design was used for determine the admissibility of the developed solutions.