Bruce Horovitz is a freelance writer, marketing and PR consultant, former USA Today marketing reporter and former Los Angeles Times marketing columnist. His monthly “Endcap” column in NACS Magazine calls out trends and ideas that should be on your radar as you look to the future. Here’s his latest column from the March issue:
Just the other day, my 14-year-old daughter Rebecca reminded me how generationally challenged I am. She delicately mocked a stickman-like drawing that I’d made of a house, which had a tall TV antenna sprouting from its roof.
“Daddy, no one has TV antennas anymore,” she chided me. “Why did you draw one?”
Answer: Because I’m still stuck in a 20th-century mindset.
A few days later, while shopping for bargain ski jackets at a major sporting equipment retailer, my wife, Evelyne, could find nothing she liked in the women’s apparel section. So, she strutted over to the men’s apparel section, despite my warnings that nothing would fit her svelte frame.
I must have had my head covered by a 20th-century, brown shopping bag. Evelyne instantly found a dreamy, blue ski jacket that was just the color she wanted—and because she went a couple sizes down, it fit fine. More importantly, she could have cared less which section of the store sold it.
The world of clearly defined male and female needs, characteristics and stereotypes is crashing down around retailers faster than you can say Bruce Jenner. As a cultural hot button, gender blurring is no less significant to Millennials than the anti-war movement was to Baby Boomers back in the 1960s. Gender blurring is a lot like climate change. It’s no longer a question of: Is this thing real or not? It’s now a question of: How will retailers—and convenience stores—respond to a generation that couldn’t care less about gender stereotypes?
Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst at NPD Group, thinks he knows—and he’s worried. “Gender blurring is a growing trend among consumers, but it’s something that very few retailers recognize or are addressing,” he says.
Several weeks ago, NPD issued its first-ever retail report on gender—and the data is mind-bending.
Millennials are, by far, the most “tolerant” generation in terms of sexual and gender choices, the study concludes. A full 50% of millennials believe that gender exists on a spectrum “and shouldn’t be limited to male and female,” the study states. Some 53% of millennial women think it was “brave” of Jenner to come out as a woman.
“All the rules are changing,” says Cohen. “The way we sell and reach out to this generation has to change. They don’t know there’s a [gender] wall.” But some retailers are just beginning to catch on.
Back in August, Target shook the retail world by announcing that it was considering some changes in its use of gender-based signage. For some things like apparel, the chain decided, gender-specific signs were still necessary. But for other items—including toys, home products and entertainment—the idea of suggesting products by gender has become “unnecessary,” says spokeswoman Joanna Hjelmeland.
Gender alone is no longer the best “reference point” for shoppers, according to Target’s customer research. And, after listening and responding to customer posts on its social media sites, the retailer conducted a test last year at a number of stores where it removed all reference to gender in the toy aisles. Teams identified specific areas where Target could phase out gender-based signage, “to help strike a better balance,” says Hjelmeland. For example, in the kids bedding area, it no longer promotes “boys” or “girls” bedding, but, instead, “kids” bedding, she says. And in the toy aisle, it dropped all references to gender, including the use of pink, blue, yellow or green paper on the back walls of its shelves.
The way millennials shop is very different from that of previous generations, says Cohen. Boys and girls increasingly like to shop together, which only makes gender-specific signage outdated.
Perhaps that’s why in March 2015, the British department store chain Selfridges launched “Agender,” a gender-neutral section at its flagship store in London. “It is something that we have definitely seen coming for a while,” says Linda Hewson, creative director.
Agender has since received its own website and hashtag, #Agender. The site encourages consumers to “explore and examine shifting gender boundaries through groundbreaking fashion, music and design collaborations.”
How does any of this impact the convenience store owner? Immensely, says Cohen. Millennials spend an inordinate amount of time at convenience stores. “You have to create a forum where kids feel comfortable—where they feel as if they’re invited in,” he says.
That means an environment that doesn’t stereotype by gender. “You have to embrace the fact that this is a generation that loves to be different,” he says. “You have to allow customers to experience, explore and express their independence.”
Translation: Don’t make your store an uncomfortable place for that kid in the hoodie and nose ring, whose gender seems indecipherable. It doesn’t really matter whether that kid is a he or she—or something in between. What matters is that the kid is your customer.