I shop with people for a living – it’s what I do. As a consultant, I work with some of the country’s biggest and most well-known brands to help them understand how well their products, displays, brochures, and other materials resonate with consumers in the retail environments where they are sold. I shop along with consumers and observe the things that attract them, annoy them, and confuse them, and then I advise my clients on how to improve their chances of closing the sale.
I’ve shopped with moms and their newborn babies for diapers. I’ve shopped with burly men for lawn tractors, and construction workers for tools and supplies. The one thing that I can say for sure, is that most people are confused when it comes to making certain purchases. Something like 50% of all the product categories out there are considered confusing or overwhelming to shop for. But, what came as a big surprise to me, was how affected my own parents were by this.
The 80's emerald green has got to go!
First, a little historical perspective. My parents are go-getters; immigrants who arrived in Cleveland in 1967 with $20 in their pocket, a job in manufacturing, and a five year old little girl (you do the math!). Since then, they’ve built two homes, did all of the landscaping themselves, and completed a ton of remodeling projects. They were the original DIYers, and quintessential hard-working Eastern Europeans. But, they also had great taste. So, on weekends, after both had worked full-time Monday through Friday, they would paint, garden, fix the plumbing, and keep an otherwise immaculate and stylish home.
My mother, in particular, knows what she wants, and usually will hunt down a bargain to fulfill her vision. I get my love of decorating and design from her. Of course, I didn’t inherit an ounce of my father’s artistic abilities. Nature is cruel.
Back then, they shopped at independently owned shops, or hardware stores. They would get personal service, answers to their questions, but a somewhat limited selection. Today, I find that my parents are totally lost trying to navigate big box home centers. Somewhere along the way, they lost the ability or the patience or both, to navigate these types of retail environments. Maybe the retailers and brands have evolved so quickly, that they can’t keep up.
So, a couple of months ago, my parents decided they wanted to do a simple redecorating of the main bath: paint, new floor, new countertop, new faucet, new light fixture. Done. They started with the easiest decision … paint the walls a warm beige. My father got a few strokes in and said that looking up made him dizzy. So they paid someone to finish the job. Next up … they bought a very nice light fixture, which my husband installed when we were in for a weekend. The light fixture was an easy purchase because they really couldn’t find much of a selection of things they liked, so they settled on a transitional / Asian-influenced fixture. Check.
When it came time to look for flooring and countertops, they were stumped. They would go out to the stores, again and again, and come home empty-handed. So, one weekend, my husband and I decided to go with them to The Home Depot and Lowe’s, in order to help move them along in their decision process. The four of us spent the better part of a Sunday just trying to get a handle on the right countertop!
I’m good at shopping, especially at the big box home centers. I know how to get help, and I know which questions to ask. But, holy cow, the options were endless, the displays were 15 feet over our heads, and the sales associates, while plentiful that particular day, were not very helpful. We left with a handful of brochures, and were still nowhere near making a decision.
My parents kept thanking us for “helping” them make sense of all the options, but I felt like such a failure (that’s the only child in me). How are you supposed to match the countertop color to the wall paint and flooring, when all you see is a 2” square photo on glossy paper? Two months have passed, holidays come and gone, and still no new countertop or flooring. We haven’t even cracked the flooring nut yet! Laminate, wood, vinyl, ceramic … oh, my. It could be years before this bath is done!
Anyway – the thought occurred to me that my parent’s demographic group is growing, yet many of my clients would consider them too old to talk to, to market to. But they have the time, they have the money, and the desire to still live in a beautiful home, thanks to a mild addiction to HGTV. And, yet, they feel about as lost at a home center as they do while choosing supplemental health insurance, or trying to navigate the internet! It’s painful for them.
I suppose if they really had a lot of money, they could just hire a designer or remodeler, but that’s probably not a realistic scenario for most retirees these days, including my parents. So, here’s a thought. Is this demographic not profitable because it’s easier for seniors to do nothing, than try to navigate the choices, and come home empty-handed each time they venture out?
I’m not sure what the answers are, but next time you encounter a senior with a project – help them out. Offer to shop with them, offer to collect brochures, and price quotes. Because soon enough, we’ll be the ones paralyzed with indecision.
