Lijun Cher

Designing Retail Experiences for the Elderly - 1 in every 10 person is 60 years old or over, totalling a 629 million elderly worldwide. The numbers are growing rapidly and it is becoming increasingly essential to think about how the world could be designed to complement changing needs. Concepts in following pages

Personal Shopping Wheels - Shopping is all about walking around, touching and experiencing product displays and making purchases. Due to the physical limitations of the elderly, this activity could be more draining than enjoyable. Some elderly would have difficulty walking long distances and carrying heavy shopping bags. A personal transportation device that allows the elderly to browse effortlessly within the shopping centre would enhance the shopping experience. (and likely to increase purchases)

On a Shopping Ride - Imagine your shopping experience to be like a ride down a street. As shopping centres expand, the floor layouts get more and more complicated; shoppers hardly get to see the entire shopping centre in one visit and it is even hard to find what one is looking for. Imagine: A family on a shopping trip hops onto one of the shopping subway carriages and chooses the baby product shopping route. The carriage will then bring the family all over town to recommended shops selling baby products.

Mobile Stores - Instead of bringing the elderly to the stores, why not bring the stores to the elderly? In Singapore, there are certain housing estates with higher proportion of elderly residents. Such mobile stores could bring products relevant to these residents to their homes on a regular basis. This would be especially convenient and beneficial for elderly with mobility issues.

Exercise & Shop - In some sense, shopping is like an opportunity to exercise. And for the elderly, it is even more important to keep active. This concept literally combines exercising with the shopping experience. The users either walk on treadmills or work on other fitness equipment while experiencing browsing a full-sized, realistic store. As if they are walking /running / cycling through it. Purchases can also be made through online transactions with the credit card.

Activities & Interest Oriented Shopping Experience - The shopping centre becomes like a community centre - a place for socialising & recreation. Products are sold to complement activities. e.g. IT tools are sold with or after computer training courses. Cooking utensils and groceries are sold in restaurants, etc... It is no longer about pushing products to shoppers but about providing a wholesome retail experience complete with outlets for relevant purchases.

Adopt-a-Plant / Adopt-a-Pet - Adopt-a-plant / Adopt-a-pet provides short term preoccupation and companionship for the elderly. For a small fee, they can experience the joys of gardening and having a pet.

Shopping Membership Card to Encourage Healthier Living - To encourage healthier living, the elderly could have a special shopping card that allows them to shop cashless and with special discounts and privileges when they buy healthier products and food. Their purchases will be stored and reflected in an online shopping journals and is accessible by the care givers of the elderly or for medical records.

Health Screening Booths - Health screening booths linked to the clinics could be placed strategically in the shopping centre. This allows quick and convenient health analyses, early detection of diseases and encourage general health awareness.