Retail success stems strongly from knowing the customer. Personalization has become more predominant over the years, particularly as retail business intelligence tools mature and provide greater insight into patrons's mindsets and shopping patterns. 

Yet some older shoppers believe that they are being under served by their local merchants. According to Shoppercentric, many customers over the age of 60 are still frequent Web browsers and they will often visit brick-and-mortar locations about every two days. 

"Sadly our research revealed that one in two older shoppers agree that retailers don't think their age group is important, and only one in five agree that retailers value their age group because they have more time and money," said Danielle Pinnington, managing director at Shoppercentric. 

With merchants benefiting from more powerful retail software than ever, being able to distinguish these informed and frequent older shoppers and target them with the right promotions and bargains may result in a sales boost to a sometimes neglected, but critical, consumer demographic. Pinnington suggested that retailers should become aware of the variation among customers age 60 or above and strive to serve them in ways with which they are comfortable. In many cases, this may mean applying ecommerce strategies that are typically reserved for younger individuals. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Friday, December 6th, 2013 at 4:51 am .