Posted on 09/15/2012 3:36:46 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Easier-to-chew foods, brighter lights in stores and bigger, clearer fonts on packaging: Those are a few of the changes marketers discussed at a conference Friday about how to sell to aging consumers.
The retail innovation conference at Wake Forest University’s uptown Charlotte campus was sponsored by drugstore chain CVS Caremark. It was the first of what the school says will be an annual series.
“There’s a silver tsunami coming as the baby boomer population moves into seniors," said professor Roger Beahm, executive director of the school’s Center for Retail Innovation.
That tsunami is expected to change everything from the width of store aisles (wider, for easier navigation) to where popular items are placed on shelves (not too low or too high — within reach of motorized scooters) and how stores are laid out (smaller, with benches for tired shoppers to rest on, and more carpet to avoid slips and falls).
Executives who make packaged goods and foods talked about how they would change labels (contrasting colors to make them easy to read) and snacks (saltier and sweeter, for aged taste buds).
Chris Gray of senior adult marketing agency Zillner said companies need to adjust because older people will only increase in relative importance.
“The senior group is the only one that is actually growing" as a proportion of the population, he said...
(Excerpt) Read more at bendbulletin.com ...
I want a job pre-chewing food for oldsters. It’s an ancient custom ;’)
They’ll all be broke.
The older I get the better I was.
Security bars are a wonderful thing. I wish we had a rail all the way from the main apt door to the parking area. Winter is a dangerous time for us.
Buying stock in Geritol and Depends as we speak.
Move here. We hardly ever have ice and snow.
Larger fonts would have helped before my cataract surgery on both eyes. However, both eyes were fixed a few months ago, so I’m 20-20 again (with glasses). If you have cataracts that glasses won’t help any more, your eyes are not going to get better, only worse, until you have that surgery to restore what you once had.
I think of years ago when seniors went blind because this surgery wasn’t available. Excellent vision through surgery. Do it.
I have trouble with my eyes and I have trouble swallowing pills, and I’m 64 years old. I would love to take some of the vitamins that they have on the market for older people’s eyes, but they all are large pills, and I don’t understand why they don’t put these vitamins out in liquid form. But I have yet to find any, and I’ve even gone online to find some.
In fact younger consumers age more quickly, proportionally.
A one-year-old child will be two on this date next year, a 100% increase. A 100-year-old person will be 101, a 1% increase.
I have a battery operated can opener AND a battery operated jar opener. Both of these are “as seen on TV items” and I got them at Walgreens. I could not do without the jar opener one. I cannot open jars without that opener. I also have a device to pull off tops of cans when they have that ring on them to pull open the can. It's a piece of plastic with a hook at the end to put into that ring, then pull back and it comes off without much pulling. Think that was an “as seen on TV” thingy but you should be able to find it at a place like Walmart or Kitchen Collection store (they also have a lot of the “as seen on TV” items, or on Amazon. I have to have that gadget to pull can tops off.
What is wrong with your eyes? Tell me and I'll see if I can help you with suggestions.
I cannot swallow capsules - they get stuck in my esophagus and it's very painful for hours.
If you go to www.swansonvitamins.com , you will find vitamins and many other items there in different formulations. I can swallow gel caps and they have many of those, plus powders, plus vitamins/others in chewable form, and some in jelly type “worms” (like the candy worms) plus tablets and they have a chart so you can see how big the gel cap or tablet is.
I bet you can solve the swallowing problem there. Now, tell me what's wrong with your eyes?
“I assume that is to prevent absent minded seniors from driving to the pharmacy pick up area in the back of the store...”
Ha, ha, you’re a big help :)
Thanks for the info.
CVS seems to have read the memo. The store layout seems pretty transparent, and the aisles are plenty wide.
Now it's elastic waist polyester, sensible shoes, Viagra, Depends....at least I still have all my own teeth.
I’ve got these little black “floaters” and my eyesight is just generally getting weaker. I’ve been to the eye doctor and had macular degeneration ruled out, but I don’t want to ever get it. I’m also in the beginning stages of cataracts, but I haven’t noticed any symptoms from that yet. The doctor told me that I have a few more years before I’ll need surgery for that. I want to take vitamins to keep my eyes as strong as possible as they go through the aging process.
“... and my eyesight is just generally getting weaker.” How long has it been since you went to eye doctor - if it's been a while, maybe you need your prescription changed if you wear glasses or need glasses if you don't wear them.
“I’ve been to the eye doctor and had macular degeneration ruled out, but I don’t want to ever get it.” If you suddenly can't see or see well in one eye, go to the doctor. That happened to a lady friend of mine not long ago and she had “shingles” in her eye. She doesn't have shingles anywhere else on her body. I had never heard of that - shingles in an eye.
“I’m also in the beginning stages of cataracts, but I haven’t noticed any symptoms from that yet.” Change in eyesight from cataracts is slow if you wear good sunglasses so sun cannot get in your eyes. Sun makes them grow faster. I had cataracts growing for many years before I had to have the surgery. I was religious to wear sunglasses during that time. Only this year did the eye doctor say glasses would no longer help and I wouldn't be able to pass a driver's license eye check so had to have the surgery.
“I want to take vitamins to keep my eyes as strong as possible as they go through the aging process.” Hopefully, on that that Swanson vitamin website you can find the right formula you can swallow.
I wondered if your eyes are dry? I use a drop of Walgreens eye ointment (for night time use) in each eye every night or my cornea would rip due to dry eye. A torn cornea is horribly painful and it takes three days for that to heal.
My eyes are very important to me as I read and write all day. Finally, after the cataract surgery, I'm in good shape and I use that eye ointment every night.
Let me know if you find what you are looking for on Swanson website. They are also the cheapest place to buy vitamins and supplements.
Much good luck to you,
Marcella
Thank you, Marcella. I worry about my eyes more than any other part of my body. I don’t want to mess around with them, that’s why whenever there are any changes to my eyes, I go to the eye doctor immediately.
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