It all started on Father’s Day as my grandson, Eli, came over to celebrate. Oh yeah, there were some other people there, too, but they were not the center of attention. It was Father’s Day, so of course my grandson was the center of attention. Every smile, every word, every movement was followed by oohs and aahs from the family. The pool was a big hit with Eli as his grandpa (that’s me) took him swimming for the first time. (See photo.) He was spoiled for about 3 hours before we turned him back to his parents for reprogramming, which would probably take weeks. We had done our duty.
The day got me thinking: What are we doing to attract this next generation—or, as I call them, Children of Millennials— to our stores? What are we doing for this generation besides leaving them with $18 trillion in debt and counting? I guess the capitalist designer in me is thinking: How are we attracting them as customers today and tomorrow? Don’t kid yourself; they are your customers today. They just happen to be using surrogates called parents and grandparents to do their shopping.
It is amazing how your life changes, again, when grandchildren arrive. It seems like only yesterday that Cathy and I sent our last child off to college and we could finally get a little “me” time. We could take trips with just the two of us. We could sit by the pool and do nothing. It was truly a whole new world.
Well, along came a miniature ball of fire named Eli, and the world turned. Now when we travel, we are always looking for presents to bring back. On a recent trip to Sonoma, I spent an hour picking out just the right kite to bring back for Eli. Visions of “Mary Poppins” were dancing in my head. (Wait, good idea! Note to self: Buy “Mary Poppins” on DVD to watch with Eli. It never stops.)
Happy Snacks and Drive-Thru
Anyway, back to my question: What are you doing for this generation in your stores? I once talked to a convenience retailer about the genius of Happy Meals—which trains the next generation to be loyal customers. Genius. I am sure that it made a lot of parents and grandparents happy when they saw their children and grandchildren open the toy inside. Sometimes they would even eat the food.
So can we do a “happy snack” in a cup with fruit, veggies and a prize? Why not? How about animal crackers and a juice? The aforementioned retailer showed me a spill-proof cup being introduced into his stores, through which sodas, juices and water could be sold to the Children of Millennials via their surrogates. Brilliant!
Another retail customer of ours shared how drive-thru convenience had revolutionized the buying habits of soccer moms in his community. Not only is it illegal to leave your children alone in a car while you go into a store, it is really stupid. Nothing good can happen. I remember as a young child, my brother and I were pretending to be Dad as he ran into the store for just a minute. Well, it took us a little less than that minute to get the car out of park and release the parking brake—just like Dad did.
I still remember Dad’s face as he ran up and struggled to keep the car from hitting another car. He made some friends that day as a number of other adults rushed over to help. I am sure they were all thinking how cute my brother and I were. Keeping your kids in their car seats as you go through a drive-thru sure sounds easier. Top it off with a sucker for the tyke, and everyone is happy.
I love Sonic’s happy hour. It seems to be strategically timed for when kids get out of school and moms and dads are driving them home, interrogating them about their day. I guess we need to take a chapter from the QSRs and offer drive-thru convenience. We can do them one better, offering candy treats to go along with snacks and drinks.
As I was shopping for Eli’s kite, thoughts of “Why can’t we do this type of retailing?” went through my mind. Why does our merchandising have to be so mundane? I see many cool ideas out there that can be easily implemented. It just takes research, intentionality, dedication, creativity and desire.
Well, OK, maybe it isn’t easy, but it is worth it.
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