All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.
– William Shakespeare (“As You Like It”)

A recent cartoon in Parade magazine depicts a young couple sitting in a restaurant, both of them focused on their cell phones, while an older couple without cell phones is sitting at a table in the background. The young woman says to her companion, “I hope when we’re old we don’t sit in restaurants not texting.” I thought it was funny, especially since my wife and I had just seen a young couple in a nice restaurant, facing each other, both furiously texting away. I said to my wife, “I wonder if they are texting each other.”

There was a time not so very long ago that a generation gap was the inability of parents to understand their children’s slang, music and general lifestyles. My dad, tolerant and open-minded as he was, didn’t get why I would want to walk around with long hair, ripped jeans and faded T-shirts, spouting phrases that were out of sync with the English language as he knew it. And then there was that whole rock-n-roll thing. If he had lived long enough, he would have seen me sporting shorter hair (and a lot less of it), tirelessly defending the English language and taking up his love for opera. And although I still wear jeans and T-shirts, the so-called gap between my generation and his has indeed grown narrower. On the other hand, the generation gap today seems to have broadened considerably thanks to the Internet and other electronic media. I used to think that the schism between my dad’s era and mine was huge, but it turns out it was all in the details. In recent years, we have witnessed a fundamental change in the way younger people communicate with one another, receive their news and entertainment, read, do business, bank and even shop for groceries. My grandson, born in 2000, will likely never know a world in which there are no cell phones, computers and iPods, unless, of course, they become extinct with the introduction of even more advanced technology, which they no doubt will. As Bob Dylan told us more than 30 years ago, the times they are a-changin’.

Boom or Bust
Jan. 1, 2011, will mark the official beginning of what will come to be known as the “Era of the Golden Boomers,” baby boomers, that is, those born between roughly 1946 and 1964. There were approximately 76 million people born in those years, making it the biggest generation in U.S. history, and the first to hold a genuine belief that their world would get increasingly better. It is estimated that baby boomers control over 80 percent of personal financial assets and have over 50 percent of the discretionary spending power. In other words, they control more than half of consumer spending. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the 300-pound gorilla sleeping in the parlor.

As members of this post-World War II generation enter their senior years, a figure that is estimated to be up 204 percent from 2002, their lifestyles begin to change and so do their buying habits — in many ways, for the better. For example, many boomers, as their children grow up and leave home, start to actually spend more dollars on food. This is due in part to their going out to dine more often than when they were raising children, but also because they begin to trade up to higher-end products for the home, gourmet foods they may have felt were wasted on young palates, or they simply couldn’t afford when trying to feed a family. But even though seniors are spending more on food — and according to the American Culinary Federation (ACF), they are the top spenders in restaurants — they also develop special dietary needs, and ironically, they often eat less as they grow older. A great deal of attention has been paid of late to the special needs of aging boomers, both at foodservice and in retail. Even though the majority of boomers are still in the work force, they/we are still getting older and, therefore, sodium levels, reduced portions, easy-to-open packaging, and convenience in general are all important considerations when marketing to this age group. Toward that end, the ACF’s Chef & Child Foundation (CCF) and Clemson University have put together a three-page article called “Culinary Nutrition News: Nutrition and the Baby Boomer Generation” that may prove helpful for those involved in foodservice. It can be accessed at www.acfchefs.org/CNN

Marketing to the older boomer crowd is a storewide endeavor. Make certain that your store is easy to navigate, that signs are easily read at a distance, even by those whose eyesight may not be what it used to be, and that items specifically marketed to older people are stocked in places where they can be reached. Lighting is critical as well. Overall, it’s important to make seniors comfortable in your store. Is there someone always available to help carry groceries to the car or reach things off high shelves? Is there a comfortable area where they can take a rest and have a quiet cup of tea while shopping? I’m a boomer myself, and while I don’t yet have any special needs in terms of mobility and diet, I do find it frustrating when lighting is so dim that I have trouble reading labels, something that is easily overlooked by younger people with no such impediments. If you are having doubts about your own store, and you happen to be under, say, 40, perhaps you should enlist the help of some senior citizens to tour your store and grade you accordingly.

Generation X
In some ways, the generation born between 1965 and 1978, known as Generation X (GenX), has been given the least amount of attention. That’s changing as many of the GenXers are now in their 40s and the rest are close behind. Although, like their parents, they have been slower to get married and start families, most of them have now done so. They are setting up households, raising children and struggling to define their careers. In fact, this generation spends more money on things like fashion, home furnishings, appliances and electronics, tabletop, and beauty products than the previous generation. As boomers begin to move up into their golden years, a lot more attention is going to be given to Generation X, particularly by those who sell luxury goods.

The Echo Boomers
While GenXers are looking for the right dining room set, Generation Y (or Echo Boomers or Millennials) is looking for self-actualization. They are delaying marriage and family even longer. For example, since 1970, the percentage of 26-year-olds living at home has skyrocketed to something like 20 percent. Others, losing their jobs in the recession, are moving back home after having once moved out. They are used to 24/7 entertainment (including in the palms of their hands) and look for it in almost every shopping experience. They want social activities, not just shopping, and they want to know that what they do buy is environmentally sound and produced with the least damage to people and the planet. Additionally, they are more hooked in to social networking sites and look to get their information through such mediums.

A recent study by the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association (RAMA), a division of the National Retail Federation (NRF), shows some interesting facts about how people interact online. The survey, “Social Media: An Inside Look at the People Who Use It,” revealed the following:

• Seven out of 10 social media users between the ages of 18 and 34 regularly use Facebook more than other sites such as MySpace, Twitter and Classmates.
• 71.8 percent of social media users say that after an online search, they communicate with others about a product or service with face-to-face communication.
• More people who use social media prefer to give advice about a product or service rather than receive it.
• Social media users are more likely to use other new media compared to adults 18-plus.
• 70.6 percent of female social media users regularly use Facebook, compared to 61 percent of males.
• More men than women prefer to communicate with others via cell phone conversation after searching for a product or service online.

Information like that should influence how you market your store. Are you using Twitter, Facebook or any other social media network to communicate important events, news, sales, etc. concerning your store?

When appealing to shoppers 18 to 34 years old, consider this: they tend to eat on average 4.6 times a day. They also eschew traditional mealtimes and settings, preferring instead on-the-go consumption. The younger they are, the less likely they will be considering nutrition or a balanced diet, and yet, they will be concerned about organics, fair trade issues, and environmental impacts of the foods produced. While in some ways a contradiction, they are quickly becoming good customers for specialty retailers, particularly if the store is fun, hip and connected via social networking sites.

And Beyond
I was reading a column by Garrison Keillor recently, something us baby boomers are apt to do (actually, my Depression-era mother sent it to me), and I was struck by a statistic he presented. Keillor writes, “The Pew Research Center tells us that 75 percent of the 12 to 17 crowd have cell phones, and more than half of them text message every day, 50 messages a day on average, but many of them send a hundred or more. Three hundred is not unusual.”

OK, I hear you saying, but those aren’t my customers. Well, not yet anyway. But chances are if you know how to communicate with them, they will be your customers one day. However, if you are not able or willing to market to them on their terms, i.e. via their cell phones, you will never reach them at all, and they will be somebody else’s customers. Teenagers are now something like 10 percent of the U.S. population. While their parents might be surfing the Web at home on their computers, teens are doing it all on their phones. My 21-year-old son doesn’t even own a computer but he is one with his phone, and I’m convinced that, armed with nothing more than his phone, he could survive Armageddon. In other words, if you’re sending out e-mails about specials and store events, consider sending them via text as well if you want to reach younger people. Collect cell numbers as you would e-mail addresses. Have drawings in which people can win discounts or prizes if they submit their e-mail address and cell phone number.

Don’t forget the children. They often influence buying decisions and, more importantly, they are potentially your future customers; and how you treat them now will determine whether they are or not. Plan a spot where children know they can always go for a tasty and healthy treat. At West Point Market in Akron, Ohio, there is a cookie corner where any child can go and get a free cookie. As owner Russ Vernon said, “They are customers for life.”

The generation gap may be wider than it has ever been but that doesn’t mean you can’t bridge it with sensible marketing and considerate store design. Take a good look at your customers and think whether your store is filling their special needs. Generations of customers will thank you.