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Baby Boomers Continue to Rule!
As I have been predicting for the last year,
marketers and retailers are overlooking the obvious.
The media continues to direct their marketing and message
to the X’ers and Y generation based on outdated demographics
and they continue to basically ignore the largest consumer
group.
What would happen if you decided to cater to the aging
Boomers and broadcast it into the community with messages
such as, “Easily readable signs, plenty of space to
navigate, smaller packages to suit your lifestyle, personal
one-on-one service”
Just a thought!
See the item below (although it is a U.S. statistic, it
mirrors our societal demographic here in Canada)
Needs of Senior Consumers Often Overlooked
LAS VEGAS — Despite possessing more than 75% of the
nation's wealth, the needs and preferences of the country's
78 million Baby Boomers, and other members of the senior
market, are often overlooked, Paul Murray, creative director
for the Varsity marketing consultancy told attendees at
the FMI Show here yesterday.
Through focus groups, a nationwide study and polls of manufacturers,
Varsity is working to create a predictive model based on
the emotional mindset and physiological needs of consumers
over 55.
So far, it's learned that the top issues among members
of the age group when shopping in retail are: Items
are hard to reach (54%); items are hard to find (27%); crowds
are difficult to navigate (27%); and prices are hard to
read (22%). Other preliminary findings reveal that
buy-one, get-one-free offers don't appeal to members of
the group since they're looking for smaller portions; items
like half a loaf of bread could support higher prices for
this reason; and the font used for on-package messages alerting
shoppers of easy-open tabs needs to be larger.
One focus group participant complained that because he
couldn't see the "open here" message on a box
of dial soap, he hadn't been using the convenient pull tab.
"Most people who have trouble with opening packages,
have trouble with eyesight," noted Murray.
Just a reminder that the aging Baby Boomer continues to
rule the consumer agenda!
All good wishes!
Cheers,
Roy
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