Marketing to the elderly

Not all marketing is aimed at the young and ultra hip (like T2U readers). It’s worth remembering that there are other market segments (groups of consumers with the same buying habits) well worth the attention of companies keen to meet the wants and needs of a particular target group in society. Japan is perhaps the best example of a rich country with a relatively large group of affluent older people. The Economist has an article about the Ueshima coffee shop chain who have geared their marketing strategy to this target market.

According to the article, the coffee shops tailor their marketing offer: the aisles are wider, the chairs sturdier and the tables lower. The food is mostly mushy rather than crunchy: sandwiches, salads, bananas—nothing too hard to chew. Helpful staff carry items to customers’ tables. The name and menu are written in the Japanese alphabet rather than Western letters, in a large, easy-to-read font. Despite this, the firm is shy about describing itself as a coffee shop for the elderly. But it targets them relentlessly—and stealthily.

Japan is greying fast: already a fifth of its people are over 65. And the “silver generation” has gold to spare. The incomes of middle-class working folk have declined in the past decade, but seniors are sitting on a vast pile of savings. Almost a third of the nation’s household wealth is in the hands of those aged 70 and older. In the West, the elderly pinch pennies, but Japan’s seniors pay extra. At Ueshima a medium-sized coffee is about 10% more than at Starbucks.

Other Japanese firms also tailor their services to silver shoppers without letting on. One department store offers chairs for weary shoppers. Signs are in large fonts. Many salespeople are in their 50s and 60s, since elderly customers trust such people more than youngsters. The food hall promotes more traditional food and the shelves are lower, so older people can reach them. Loyalty cards award points not according to what you buy, but according to how often you visit. “Seniors have a lot of time on their hands,” one marketer explains. Marketing to the elderly is tricky. The direct approach—say, calling your product “the soap for the over-70s”—does not work. And traditional advertising fails. “You can’t use TV adverts: they forget them,” groans the expert. “We show it again and again and again—and they still can’t recall it,” he sighs. Word-of-mouth is the only way.