VOA标准英语2011--Retailers Prepare for Aging Baby Boomers

Retailers² Prepare for Aging Baby Boomers

The first group of so-called baby boomers, Americans born after World War II, turns 65 this year. Within the next 10 years, the number of Americans over 65 is expected to jump almost 30 percent. That has U.S. retailers pondering how to accommodate the millions of older shoppers who'll be flooding through their doors in the coming decades.
What appeals to many shoppers - fully-stocked shelves with enticing³ displays, numerous aisles⁴ and gleaming floors - can have a different impact as we age. Take the floors, for example.
"Retailers love shiny floors," says retail¹ anthropologist⁵ Georganne Bender. "But shiny floors are scary to somebody who's not sure if it's going to be, you know, slick footing for them."
Then there's getting down those long aisles to the products, which may be on shelves that are too high or too low. Half the population over 65 has some kind of arthritis⁶. A lot of younger people have it too. Reaching and bending get harder.
Making changes
The National Retail Federation⁷ says its members are working to make shopping easier. Bender notes changes at one drugstore chain.
"They're re-setting their counters, not putting things too high or too low, they're putting carpeting in the store."
There also are magnifiers hanging from shelves so shoppers can read the fine print on packaging. But so far, Bender says, there's more talk than action from most retailers.
New Yorkers Robert and Ronnie Rubin are retired⁸ teachers in their late sixties who run into problems while shopping, starting with the lack of automatic doors at many stores.
"You need to be, uh, Hercules to open the door," says Robert Rubin.
Ronnie Rubin adds, "Robert and I have more than once gone over to assist someone in opening the door because they just couldn't get it open. We're fortunate we're still healthy enough to be able to do these things."
Age-friendly shopping
But there may come a time when the Rubins will benefit from a store designed with their needs in mind. Rosemary Bakker of Weill Cornell Medical College is an interior designer and gerontologist. She assesses a grocery store on Manhattan's Upper West Side that the New York City council has called age-friendly.
Bakker notices something age-unfriendly as soon as she walks in: the upbeat music blaring from the store's public address system.
"This music is geared for a much younger audience, and I find it with this very low beat, very distracting," she says. "So I want to come in here and shop but there's this drum beat going on and I feel like I'm in the wrong environment."
Anyone with cognitive⁹ difficulties would find the visual stimuli¹⁰ of the displays, combined with the music, too much to handle, according to Bakker. A 79-year-old woman across the street confirms she avoids the market for that very reason.
But on other fronts, this store does well. It has wide aisles, good lighting¹¹ and helpful staff. The signs are easy to read. Bakker turns to the utensils¹² at the salad bar.
"They have nice size handles here for me to pick up, so I'm looking to make sure that I can easily grasp things if I might have a little arthritis in my hand."
Her wish list includes carts with built-in seats so weary shoppers can take a rest. Some supermarkets in Europe already use those.
Retail anthropologist Georganne Bender says whatever help stores offer, they need to be subtle. Never make a customer feel old. That's a mistake one supermarket made recently, when it started a loyalty¹³ program for shoppers over 55.
"And they called it a senior discount," says Bender. "Well, I'm 55 years old and there's no way that I'm a senior and I'm the kind of person that, I don't even want your discount if I have to have the senior citizen card."
But if they think of another name, she might consider it.

1 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

2 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

3 enticing   

adj.迷人的；诱人的

参考例句：

• The offer was too enticing to refuse. 这提议太有诱惑力，使人难以拒绝。
• Her neck was short but rounded and her arms plump and enticing. 她的脖子短，但浑圆可爱；两臂丰腴，也很动人。

4 aisles   

n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊

参考例句：

• Aisles were added to the original Saxon building in the Norman period. 在诺曼时期，原来的萨克森风格的建筑物都增添了走廊。
• They walked about the Abbey aisles, and presently sat down. 他们走到大教堂的走廊附近，并且很快就坐了下来。

5 anthropologist   

n.人类学家，人类学者

参考例句：

• The lecturer is an anthropologist.这位讲师是人类学家。
• The anthropologist unearthed the skull of an ancient human at the site.人类学家在这个遗址挖掘出那块古人类的颅骨。

6 arthritis   

n.关节炎

参考例句：

• Rheumatoid arthritis has also been linked with the virus.风湿性关节炎也与这种病毒有关。
• He spent three months in the hospital with acute rheumatic arthritis.他患急性风湿性关节炎，在医院住了三个月。

7 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

10 stimuli   

n.刺激（物）

参考例句：

• It is necessary to curtail or alter normally coexisting stimuli.必需消除或改变正常时并存的刺激。
• My sweat glands also respond to emotional stimuli.我的汗腺对情绪刺激也能产生反应。

11 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

12 utensils   

器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物

参考例句：

• Formerly most of our household utensils were made of brass. 以前我们家庭用的器皿多数是用黄铜做的。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

13 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。