Since manufacturers’ age labels aren’t always sufficient, especially when they are as broad as “ages 8 and up,” retailers could further help shoppers by providing their own comprehensive lists of toys and games for different age groups. Additional useful information could include a toy’s popularity (for the conformist or the trendsetter), degree of coordination needed (a “klutz” scale), and whether adult supervision is merely recommended, strongly suggested, or absolutely required.

Yet warehouse-style toy stores may never provide the ultimate in information—a knowledgeable sales staff—which is exactly why specialty stores should offer just that. People who raised their own children forty years ago are not necessarily up to speed on the current thinking about what colors, patterns, and textures are most appealing to a 3-month-old versus a 6-month-old. Many older shoppers would appreciate someone to whom to talk about selecting a chew toy for baby Jonathan, as would trendy Aunt Becky, who doesn’t yet have children of her own. If a toy store can pass the senior-friendly test, chances are everyone will benefit.

Personal service is a big draw for older consumers, so what happens to an industry that wants to reduce its face-to-face contact with customers? Banking and financial services are, to seniors, heading for a train wreck.

Teller-based banking is expensive, and many banks are looking for ways to wean customers away. Envirosell’s global experience shows that only in New York City are the demographics of ATM users and teller customers the same. Everywhere else in the world, ATM users are younger than teller customers.

High-ranking bank executives often spend little time on the floor of branch offices. They see costs rather than people and opportunity. While banks talk about having relationships with their customers, they often forget that even though relationships can be sustained online and on the phone, they are consummated face-to-face. There is no question that the physical form of retail banking is desperately in need of change, and branches are the place to make the transition happen.

There are creative solutions. Some banks are experimenting with teller-less branches staffed by greeters whose job it is to train people to use the machines. This is cheaper than staffing branches with tellers, but it provides the human touch that older customers especially appreciate, as well as the assistance they need. In a similar way, the Minneapolis-based John Ryan Co., the largest retail-bank-marketing agency in the world, has developed interactive banking kiosks that link customers to financial specialists. This gives bank branches the ability to provide personalized service without having the personnel on-site.

A sense of humor doesn’t hurt, either. With an eye to her customers’ past machine interaction, we overheard one Citibank branch manager in San Mateo, Calif., tell her mature customers that “ATMs are just like slot machines—only you never lose.”

Without rehashing the biology of aging eyes, the impact of the ocular evolution is just beginning to be felt in the creative process of marketing. The implications extend far beyond issues of print, size and style. Take one simple example. As eyes age, they do not respond as quickly to changing light conditions. When mature shoppers enter a store, they may actually pass a store communication system or point-of-purchase display near a doorway before their eyes have adjusted.

Mass merchandisers have built a successful franchise with older consumers in a number of important categories, including small appliances, hardware, automotive, and seasonal items. They have been less successful in books, apparel, health-and-beauty aids, and over-the-counter drugs. This isn’t because older people don’t read or want to look good, and it certainly isn’t because they don’t need pain relief and cough drops. It might have something to do with the products are presented in-store. Seniors and others most in need of concealer are probably the least able to reach down to the lowest shelf of the makeup aisle, where it is located, while glittery lipstick, which looks prettier on the wall, is placed at eye-level for 13-year-olds. It might also be the products themselves: The fashion world still seems not to have grasped the fact that few older women still lean toward double-knit pantsuits and figure-swallowing shift dresses. Apparel innovator Chico’s is flourishing as women are discovering the company’s modestly stylish clothing at affordable prices. The store also does a great job at nurturing a social scene for these women, but that’s a topic for another article. So again, it’s partly what you sell, partly how you sell it.

Those of us in positions of moderate influence and in our pre-senior years have a vested interest in preparing the world for our own dotage. But now is not too soon to make changes that benefit older shoppers. Before Calvin Klein comes out with a line of designer adult diapers, we need to make our world more senior-friendly. I’d give you that short list of more changes, if only I could find my glasses.