Retailers prepare for ‘silver tsunami’ of aging consumers

The Bend Bulletin ^ | September 15, 2012 | Ely Portillo

[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...

[Focault's Pendulum]

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

Get a pill splitter. I use one every day and it's been a big help.

[EggsAckley]

I propose a new internet acronym: O.T.B.

{off to bed}

(g'nite)

[ex-Texan]

Gerald Celente is calling for all seniors to remove money from Wall Street and large banks and not to shop for anything in any major chain stores again. He recommends buying everything from thrift shops or second hand stores because all money spent in chain stores most likely goes to China, India, Mexico or third world countries. He also recommends doing what oldsters did during The Great Depression — not buying Christmas gifts but MAKING small gifts for loved ones and buying all food locally. He says hold on to your cash because you will need it.

[Texas Fossil]

At the drug stores they sell “pill crushers” that will make powder out of those hunker pills. About $10. I bought one for my mother, she got to where it was very difficult for her to swallow.

As far as masking the taste, put it in a milk shake etc.