Costly retailer mistakes

Retailers are ignoring the fastest-growing crowd in the United States -- people age 45 and older.

It is a costly mistake, two analysts told a packed audience at a retail leaders' conference in Chicago.  People older than 50 spend $1.7 trillion annually on goods and services.  That's more than 30 percent of the United States' total household spending, said Deloitte executives Patrick J. Conroy and Bruce Westbrook.

Three steps retailers can take to appeal to shoppers over 50:

Make time stand still by selling products that make these shoppers feel 20 years younger.

Sell unique or "vanity" sizes of clothes, such as Chico's sizes 0-3 in place of traditional sizes 4-16.

Reward sales people for showing these customers the extra time and service they expect.

At stake is satisfying the fastest-growing segment of the population -- the aging Baby Boomer, who intends to remain vigorous longer than any preceding generation.

There are definite no-nos for retailers, the Deloitte analysts said.  "If you call them 'seniors' or 'older adults,' you're on the wrong path already," Conroy said.

Source: Sandra Guy, Chicago Sun-Times, October 11, 2005, www.suntimes.com