Christmas shopping is few people's idea of fun, with the snaking queues and Mariah Carey on loop enough to drive anyone mad.
But for wheelchair users the season's pile-it-high mentality can make it almost impossible to negotiate their way through stores.
One wheelchair user and her carer have told how they dread the approach of the festive period, when many stores in the centre of Hounslow become obstacle courses for them.
Big displays at the end of aisles and extra stock making the walkways themselves even narrower too often turn the experience into a nightmare, they say.
Clare Gilchrist, of Brentford , enjoys her shopping trips but carer Kim Harris, who accompanies her, says it can be a painful experience for them both.
"Clare loves shopping but often we both get home exhausted because it's such a stressful experience," she says.
"The aisles are often very narrow and there's little space in which to turn at the end, especially at Christmas when you have all the extra displays.
"We talk to the store managers but they usually tell us they're just following instructions from head office.
"It would be nice if they gave more thought to how things are for people in wheelchairs, especially at Christmas."
To see for myself, I joined Clare, Kim and Clare's other carer Siobhan Douglas - along with Treaty Centre manager Janet Leatherland and Hounslow town centre manager Esther Worboys - to witness the hazards they face on a weekly basis.
We visited four stores, three of which they said were among the worst culprits and one they hailed as an example of how shops can make their lives easier.
"It would be nice if they gave more thought to how things are for shoppers in wheelchairs, especially at Christmas"
On the day I accompanied them, both Superdrug and WHSmith - which they describe as two of the worst offenders - were surprisingly clear and easy to negotiate with a wheelchair.
They said this might be down to the fact it was a quiet, mid-week morning, before the hordes had descended and sent stock spilling from the end-of-aisle displays.
Sports Direct was more of a jungle, with poor Clare forced to brush past racks of sweaters and jogging bottoms lining the cramped aisles.
Primark, meanwhile, is an example of how shops should be, they tell me, with wider aisles, a dedicated counter for people with disabilities and staff always quick to come to their aid.
Aside from widening their aisles and reducing clutter, Kim says retailers could help by adding arrows on the floor for wheelchair users to aid navigation.
The Equality Act of 2010 requires shops to make reasonable adjustments to improve accessibility for people with disabilities.
But although there is a minimum width for aisles, depending on the size of the store, as part of fire safety regulations, there are no legal restrictions when it comes aisle end displays.
Both Ms Worboys and Ms Leatherland tell me this means that while they encourage shop managers to be responsible, and many are, they are powerless to take action against those who do not listen.
Hounslow Council leader Steve Curran said: "The recent investment by Hounslow Council and the Mayor of London into the paving and street furniture of Hounslow High Street has massively improved accessibility in the town centre.
"We now urge local businesses to consider what they can do to make shopping in Hounslow a more pleasant experience for all customers, including disabled people."
It's not just the shopkeepers who could be more considerate. Kim says she had to fit a bell to Clare's chair as she was so fed up with other shoppers blocking their path on the street and in stores.
Ashi Dhillon, of the charity Hounslow Disability Network, said: "People in wheelchairs do complain about the aisles being too tight and the clothes too close together.
"A lot of shops, especially the discount ones, aren't designed with wheelchair users in mind.
"The managers could do a lot more to consider the needs of people with disabilities. There are more people using wheelchairs today and if customers are put off using their stores, they will be missing out on money."
What the retailers had to say
Sports Direct: "Every store is subject to regular DDA audits and any complaints are dealt with by a dedicated team at the company’s Head Office. Sports Direct complies with all the relevant regulations in this area and in addition provides specific training and guidelines to its staff to address the needs of disabled shoppers, including the offer of a personal shopper service if required."
Superdrug: "At Superdrug we take making sure our stores are accessible to all customers seriously, including those in wheelchairs. We will remind our store teams to keep wheelchair users in mind when planning their displays this Christmas."
WHSmith: "As a long-standing member of the Business Disability Forum we take our responsibilities regarding access for all of our customers very seriously. We carry out periodic access audits and we will further review this store’s fixtures and layout, to ascertain what further actions we may be able to take, to improve the product displays and internal layout."
Primark: "Accessibility and safety are of utmost importance to Primark. We always comply with guidance on building regulation and work hard to ensure that both customers and colleagues have easy access and movement within our store environment. We want a visit to a Primark store to be an easy, convenient and pleasant experience for our customers and a fantastic place to work for our colleagues."
