A key test for genuine customer service could well be the commitment of retailers to look after the needs of elderly and disabled shoppers. The 'greying populations' in many industrialised countries have grown in the last decade, and shoving the needs of these consumers to the sidelines not only betrays the 'lip service' shown them but also ignores good business sense.
Elsevier Food International, Vol. 7, Number 2, May 2004
David Litwak

Worldwide, the food retailing industry talks a lot about catering to the needs of its customers. While supermarkets do try to give consumers the products they crave and design the stores for convenience in terms of a faster shopping trip, few retailers have yet to give more than lip service to the needs of a growing number of shoppers: the elderly and disabled. Senior citizens, whether or not physically limited in their movements, create some special design challenges for retailers of all sorts, especially for supermarkets which are the type of stores they are likely to visit most often. Many of the major industrialised nations in Europe, North America and Asia are facing the reality that their citizenry are getting older, with average ages rising over the next ten years. "It just makes good business sense to construct an environment that is conducive to easy shopping for our senior citizens," says Bill Pizzico, president of the Fort Washington, Pennsylvania-based Prizm Group. "Senior citizens do need a little extra consideration when it comes to store layout and merchandising, but they will reward those retailers that make an extra effort on their behalf with

Special trolleys for elderly and disabled customers in the Adeg 50+ Aktiv Market in Vienna, Austria.

loyalty."
A major design consideration for many types of retailers is accessibility for disabled shoppers. While most national and local regulations mandate accessibility for all patrons, supermarkets are actually in a better position than most retailers to comply with these regulations. Since supermarkets are made for the easy use of large shopping carts their entrances are usually level and wide, with wide aisles that can easily accommodate a wheel chair. The major problem that supermarket operators face when accommodating elderly or disabled customers is in the height of the shelves, and in the physical size of the store. One retailer who has attempted to redesign the store especially for the comfort of its senior shoppers is Austria's Adeg. The Edeka-owned supermarket operator has recently opened the first two of its new 50 + prototype stores. These units in Vienna and Salzburg offer consumers wider aisles, larger sign age, seating areas, and free blood pressure testing, among other amenities.
"The idea of our 50 + markets was developed by several people [at the company] who had the idea of making the shopping experience possible and easier for elderly people with health problems," says Dr Gertraud Lackner, director of POS-marketing at Adeg. "So, we tried a special kind of supermarket especially created for elderly people."

Magnifying glasses

Customers can also use magnifying-glasses to check products.

The 50 + stores have skid-proof flooring to prevent slips and falls. The store's wide aisles are easier to manoeuvre through with a wheelchair or a walker. One unique feature of the new Adeg markets is the special shopping trolleys that the stores use. The carts feature a seat, but unlike most carts with seats, there is a braking system that automatically locks the wheels when someone sits on the seat and releases them again when the shopper gets up. This allows a tired shopper the opportunity to safely rest at any point in the store.
"On the shelves we have put magnifying glasses and extra large price tags for people with bad eyes. If they prefer reading glasses they can borrow them at the entrance. For better reading quality the light in the store is extra bright," says Lackner. "At the entrance we have a comfortable seating area if grandmother or grandfather wants to sit and wait for their son or daughter to shop. We have fresh water available if they get thirsty."
The 50 + stores not only make it easier for seniors to shop, they also make it easier for seniors to work. The stores were created with the mission of providing opportunities for seniors to work and earn money. Using the concept of "Fifties for Fifties" the stores actively recruit employees among those applicants who are seniors. Lackner believes that this is go business of two levels; firstly, seniors form a great, underutilised group of potential employees, and, secondly, these experienced employees can more easily understand the needs of their customers. The concept seems to be working; sales are up 20 per cent in these stores compared with the company's traditional stores. Shoppers of all ages and physical acumen are flocking to the 50 + stores.
"An easy-to-navigate store layout is an obvious concern for disabled or elderly shoppers, but how many retailers have considered locating a cafe at the half way point in the store that is still accessible to the 'grab & go' customers but also gives an elderly or disabled person a chance to take a break before finishing his shopping trip," asks Nadine McLearon, marketing and creative director of Madison Heights, Michigan-based Design fabrications, Inc. "One Wisconsin retailer was successful in accommodating shoppers just by simply adding seats in the checkout areas for people waiting for shoppers. This consideration goes above and beyond simply complying with the (disability access) regulations. A retailer that does not go the extra mile for the ageing or disabled customer in this competitive market will become extinct," she says.
McLearon's company uses signage that has large light coloured text with dark backgrounds that make it easier for elderly shoppers to read. The lines of sight are kept clear and uncluttered so that they are easily seen and don't cause visual confusion. As for lighting, the company generally prefers to use 100 foot candles in gondola shelving to provide adequate lighting. There is also transitional lighting provided in the store vestibules to help an elderly person's eyes adjust from daylight to store light.

Senior workers
As with Adeg, other retailers are finding that the elderly and the physically challenged can make excellent employees. Wal-Mart has had a longstanding policy of hiring seniors and physically challenged workers in their stores all over the world. Typically, the first person to greet shoppers entering a Wal-Mart store is a senior worker.
In Germany, METRO Group has championed the rights of disabled people to be employed. The company currently employs roughly 3,800 people with recognisable disabilities in its stores. "For the METRO Group as an international trading and retailing company and one of the largest employers in Germany, the integration of people with disabilities into the working life is a primary concern," says Zygmunt Mierdorf, a member of METRO AG's management board. "Although the demands for the right to participation, equality and self-determination (for disabled workers) are plausible, their implementation in day-to-day life is still a far cry from reality."
Last year, METRO decided to take the matter of disabled workers a step beyond its own stores. The company organised the METRO Forum 2003, which brought together 200 representatives from business and social organisations to discuss the problems of disabled citizens entering the workforce. The METRO Forum was held in conjunction with the European Year for People with Disabilities to heighten the awareness of the special living and working situation of people with disabilities.
While some accommodations have been made for physically disabled and elderly shoppers among forward looking supermarket operators, little has been done to aid visually impaired shoppers. In the US, Kroger has developed a store that addresses some of the needs of blind shoppers. In 2002 the company opened a new store in North College Hill, Ohio, near Cincinnati. Since the store was near the Clovernook Center for the Blind the retailer enlisted the help of the centre in laying out the store to better address the needs of individuals with visual impairments.
Kroger's design team fitted textured sidewalks near the store's three entrances to provide special markings to aid individuals crossing high-traffic areas. The weekly sales flyers are printed in braille by Clovernook. The store lowered aisle markers and made them with white lettering on black backgrounds to assist shoppers with poor vision in locating aisles and products. The store's employees are trained in the Human Guide Technique.
"We tried to incorporate as many of the design and service recommendations from Clovernook as possible, from relocating the Bascart rail inside the foyer to working with them to train our employees in the Human Guide Technique," says Bob Hodge, president of Kroger's Cincinnati division.
For its efforts, Kroger has received the 2003 Access Award from the American Foundation for the Blind. "The accommodations and services that Kroger incorporated into this new store have truly made shopping more accessible to people with vision problems," says Cynthia Jackson-Glenn, Clovernook's orientation and mobility specialist.
Despite the efforts of some retailers around the world to accommodate both shoppers and employees with disabilities or make it easier for senior shoppers, these examples of operator concern for these consumers with special needs are relatively rare. For the majority of shoppers needing special considerations there are few stores in their home areas that can accommodate them.