Making Stores Age-Friendly: Modifications for Reduced Mobility Capability and Visual Capability of Older Adults

Abstract

The ability to shop for everyday products is an important instrumental activity for daily living (IADL) that contributes to successful independent living. As individuals age, the prevalence of osteoarthritis (Woolf, Erwin, & March, 2012) and issues with vision (West et al., 2002) increase, affecting the performance of IADLs. The current retail environment is not ready for the older population. Store merchandising such as shelf arrangements and reading materials are often not suitable for older consumers (Yin, Pei, & Ranchhod, 2013), increasing the gap between shopping task demands and consumers' performance abilities. Because the older population in the U.S. is projected to grow substantially in the next few years, retailers face the challenge and an opportunity of making their stores age-friendly.

A laboratory experiment using performance-based and perceived self-efficacy measures examined the influence of reduced mobility capability and visual capability of older adults on shopping tasks in grocery stores. Older adults with OA and good vision (N=10), older adults with OA and not so good vision (N=10), older adults without OA and good vision (N=10), older adults without OA and not so good vision (N=10) and young adults without OA and good vision (N=20) formed the sample. The findings indicate that older adults with OA took a longer time to walk and also had walking scores indicating risk of future fall. To accommodate for this, products like dairy products, produce, breakfast, and lunch items should be kept within closer proximity to the door. The results also indicate that shelf heights 29.5 to 42.5 inches from the floor were the most comfortable for older adults to reach. Shelf heights in the stores should be adjusted to have daily use products only in these height ranges. The highest and lowest shelves were very hard to reach. Helvetica and Century Gothic fonts in a 14 point size were found to be most readable while fonts in 6 point size, a standard size for many product labels, were difficult or impossible to read. Overall, these findings indicate a need for action on the part of store designers to accommodate the needs of the growing older population.