Starbucks (SBUX) will offer all of its customers at its company-operated and licensed stores free access to Aira, a smartphone app that connects blind and low-vision people with visual interpreters, starting on Monday as part of the coffee giant’s push for more inclusive retail.
The app, which is free to download, offers various monthly subscription plans based on the number of minutes needed. Starbucks is picking up the cost of service at its stores for the app's users.
The app lets customers connect with remotely-located Aira agents who instantly share visual information, such as a store's layout to items on the menu boards and in the display cases. Starbucks tested Aira across seven U.S. cities, including at its signing store location in Washington D.C. Starbucks operates nine signing stores worldwide, staffed with employees who are highly-skilled in sign language, to provide an inclusive space for the Deaf and hard of hearing community.
In addition to the Aira announcement, Starbucks said it partnered with the National Braille Press to offer new large-print and Braille menus at all of its U.S. and Canada stores starting in the summer.
Starbucks is also using its Tryer Center, an innovation lab where employees usually test beverages and prototypes and build new equipment, to focus on accessibility. The Starbucks Accessibility Office and the Tryer Center have worked on inclusive design features for their products and stores.
Starbucks will host its annual meeting of shareholders on Wednesday. Shares of Starbucks were down 0.35%, or down 38 cents, at $107.43.
Julia La Roche is a correspondent for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.