‘Greydollarfella’ could be retailing’s new super-hero
‘Greydollarfella’- the middle aged male – may soon rival the famed ‘metrosexual man’ as a target for marketers and retailers.
Until now a ‘silent shopper’- despite accounting for more than 40% of consumer spending and representing less than 10% of all targeted advertisements – he has more discretionary income than younger males, has significant equity in or owns his own home, is likely to be computer literate and owns a new car.
“But he still isn’t marketed to and isn’t offered the environment which suits his buying mentality or preference,” according to researcher Stephen Ogden-Barnes from Monash University’s Centre for Retail Studies, who studied the greydollarfella phenomenon with Stella Minahan from Deakin University.
He said retailers would do well to recognise that such men were functional shoppers with little interest in browsing. They have a shorter attention span for shopping, so small ranges, coherently presented, suit the mature male.
“He is time conscious and will run out of steam long before his female counterpart.”
In Japan retailers had specifically redesigned shops for older men, with one Japanese retailer boosting sales by 30% following the refit which had a comprehensive but smaller range. In Germany a Hamburg shopping centre had created a ‘maennergarten’- a place where men could gather, eat, and watch TV while their wives shopped.
“I think the concept is worth a go here,” Mr Ogden-Barnes said. “I see lots of tragic-looking men shambling around the stores on the heels of their wives. But if you asked them ‘do you want to shop with me, or sit down, have a meal, be served by an attractive barmaid and watch TV’- it would be a no-brainer.”
Australian examples of ‘greydollarfella’ shops are limited, although Henry Buck’s in Melbourne specialises in the 45-60 year old men who “play golf, have a house at Portsea and want to look smart”, according to one of its senior buyers. ‘HBs’ was seen as small, cosy and clubby.
Other successes are shops that specialised in interest-driven areas, such as Barbeques Galore or a Harley-Davidson shop.
