Boomer Design

It's no secret that our population is aging. Life expectancies are increasing and the Baby Boomers are heading for retirement, leaving demand for "senior-friendly" services to go up. With the sheer size of this demographic segment, it could prove to be a very strategic move to make your business easier for this target to shop.

Last week, Retail Design Diva featured a post on this very topic. Turns out that Europe's population is in a similar aging state and at lease one proactive retailer - Tesco - is doing its best to capitalize on this market by developing a senior-focused store.

But what does a senior-focused store entail exactly? Taking some inspiration from Tesco, The Dadson Diaries came up with a list of possible design elements seniors might like.

• Avoid hard color and lighting schemes.
• Keep carpeting to a minimum.
• Use shelving and displays that keep products within comfortable reach. (If you need to use close-to-the-floor or overhead shelving, make sure employees are readily-available to help retrieve items.)
• Use larger, easy-to-read fonts for all graphics and signage.
• Keep aisles as wide as possible.
• Provide comfortable seating around the store for any needed rest breaks.
• Use fitting room and bathroom locks with simple locking mechanisms. (Small, complicated levels and knobs could be hard to grip and operate for some people.)

For a business looking to target a wider range of ages, these items could easily be integrated in a way that fits whatever design aesthetic you're going for; and even better, these are things that anyone could appreciate.