As it passes 50, a huge generation is altering the retail landscape in perplexing ways By Susan Reda Susan Reda is a New York-based business writer who specializes in the retail industry. But over the long term, at least, retailers that refuse to change their approach to this affluent segment in its 50s and beyond may find themselves going the way of the Me Decade.
Analysts expect the graying of the boomers to alter the retail landscape in other ways as well.
Vitamin retailers and service-oriented companies seem perfectly positioned for success in the coming years, for example, while apparel and music stores will have to be alert to avoid sinking under a tide of generational disinterest. They are not ready to accept growing old. Figuring out how to reach these customers with a relevant message that will lure them to a particular store or brand remains the challenge. Gene Wright, industry director of Andersen Consulting's Retail Place, encourages retailers to retool their marketing and merchandising strategies with an eye toward understanding boomers' shifting priorities and changing definition of value. He argues that the rise of different segments of retailing in recent decades has been closely tied to the changing spending patterns of baby boomers.