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photo: LAUREN POND FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (DON QUIGLEY & LUCY REINOSO)
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... and Grandparents
By ELLEN BYRON Before walking into a Walgreen drugstore in suburban Chicago, Todd Vang put on glasses that blurred his vision, slipped unpopped popcorn into his shoes and adjusted tape that bound his thumbs to his palms. The get-up was part of a training exercise designed to help retailers better understand the physical challenges facing elderly shoppers. Mr. Vang, a 42-year-old Walgreen vice president, struggled to pick up a can of soup. “I can’t imagine how this would feel if the store were crowded,” he said.
The training program, run by Kimberly-Clark and presented to retailers including Rite Aid and Family Dollar Stores, is a peek at the next frontier in retailing. The number of adults aged 65 and older will reach 71.5 million by 2030, twice their number in 2000 and representing nearly 20% of the total U.S. population, according to estimates by the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics. These elderly shoppers are expected to spend an additional $50 billion over the next decade on consumer products in the U.S., estimates Sean Seitzinger, a senior vice president at market-research firm Information Resources. Given their growing physical limitations and focus on health-related products, “there will be dramatic shifts in what they buy and where they shop,” Mr. Seitzinger says. HARD TO REACH Current store layouts present challenges for elderly shoppers, experts say. Worsening eyesight makes finding items more frustrating, arthritis complicates browsing and reduced balance intensifies the strain of stooping or reaching for products. Much as industries throughout Western Europe and Japan have been adjusting to accommodate aging populations, American businesses are stepping up their preparations. Rite Aid is relabeling its store-brand goods with bigger typefaces on packaging. Family Dollar is weighing new lighting and shelf labels. Walgreen said some of the elderly-friendly changes will appear in the coming months as part of a broader revamping that costs about $30,000 to $50,000 a store. Over the next year, Walgreen plans to install call buttons near heavy merchandise like bottled water and laundry detergent in some stores. It also will put magnifying glasses on store shelves and make its aisle signs clearer. Retailers that accommodate the elderly with amenities such as nearby parking spaces, smaller store sizes and manageable carts will generate loyal customers, Mr. Seitzinger says. When stores are too hard to shop, senior citizens buy less, say executives from Kimberly-Clark, maker of Kleenex tissues and Viva paper towels. Kimberly-Clark runs the program to let retail executives experience how difficult shopping can be for older adults. “Our goal is not to make your store a senior shopping center,” says Amy Kuerschner, a Kimberly-Clark manager, at a recent training session. “But if we make it easier for them, we make it easier for everyone.” ‘I JUST CAN’T SEE IT’ Kimberly-Clark uses kits developed by Lee Memorial Health System that include items that can simulate the world as elderly people might. Cardboard glasses in the kits simulate common vision impairments including glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration and yellowing of the eye lens. Large rubber gloves simulate the limited manual dexterity brought on by arthritis. At the Walgreen session, Ms. Kuerschner challenged the executives to read their own store flier wearing glasses simulating glaucoma, macular degeneration or cataracts. Pressing their noses against the flier, the group struggled. “It’s really small copy, and I just can’t see it,” said Robert Tompkins, a Walgreen’s vice president. Next, the executives wore yellow-tinted glasses to simulate the yellowing effect that comes with age. “How are your vitamins showing up?” asked Ms. Kuerschner, pointing to the flier’s front page where vitamin bottles’ yellow labels disappeared against a bright yellow background. Such glasses led Kimberly-Clark product developers to realize that many older shoppers couldn’t distinguish between green and blue Kleenex wrapping. Kimberly-Clark now uses text and images as well to distinguish between tissue versions.
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