The survey among 10,000 consumers in 13 countries, reveals many similarities, and some differences in shopping habits and preferences across the generations. That being the case, you might wonder, what’s the fuss about creating customer experiences that are more Age-Friendly? Quite simply, the research does not consider the physical challenges that confront shoppers as they age. In fact, […]
retail
A good report on the silver consumer tarnished by its youthful authors

I’m a big fan of Nielsen and have written many blogs citing their useful studies. Their recent study of the ageing consumer in Singapore titled “How to win hearts and carts of the Silver Generation” is worth the registration to download. It has lots of useful and data and some remarkably familiar insights. BUT! The report […]
How media reporting on ageing can be bad for business

The headline screams “Dedicated supermarket aisles, free online deliveries among wish-list items for the elderly“. Reading further in this article from Singapore’s Straits Times, it becomes clear that the quoted research from Nielsen involves a sample of 300 people, 55 years and above. Really? 55 is ‘elderly’!? This bullshit is bad for business.
Retailers need to adapt their customer experience to meet the evolving needs of shoppers, young and old
A survey of global shoppers reveals issues that are forcing companies to adapt quickly to deliver better customer experiences.
Retailers appeal to older shoppers – without treating them as ‘old’

A rash of major fashion retailers including Gap Inc. and Reitmans (Canada) Ltd. failed in their launch of separate boomer chains about a decade ago. Why?
If you want to understand your customer, you’d better understand how they’re ageing

Beyond brand awareness, European marketing executives are keen to deepen their understanding of customers, to improve engagement and to make their customer interactions more relevant.
Will the Microsoft retail store deliver an Apple customer experience?

Microsoft’s first flagship retail location (New York) seems set to be a customer experience above the norm. It seems a lot like the Apple store. According to this article from Engadget, the store is a milestone for Microsoft; First to have more than one floor (hope there are elevators) Features a large community theatre, where […]
Multi-generational shopping experience? Nice idea but where’s the beef?

The headline certainly caught my attention; “Creating a multi-generational experience for your shoppers”. The announcement of a multinational research report on retail from Accenture goes on to say “Our research findings show many similarities yet many differences in the way people of different generations shop”. Goodness me, really? In fact, there seems to be very […]
New products have cross generational appeal. So why the focus on youth?
The image of an “early adopter” being a tech-savvy teenager or college student is naively limited.
Self-service checkouts risk customer loyalty. Particularly among older shoppers.
Responding to increasing pressure for improved productivity and reduce costs, retailers, banks, airlines and others have moved to self checkout. But at what cost to customer loyalty? Evidence suggests it could be costing them business. Self checkouts are extending the queues, inconveniencing the customers, making them disenchanted. According to one consultant reported here, five out of six […]