Don't call West Vancouver's Village at Park Royal a mall. The shopping centre, which promises "sunny patios and shopping galore," is marketed as a lifestyle centre. The reason? Its design encourages customers, a majority of whom are older than 55, to spend the day.
Trees, streetlamps and benches line wide sidewalks along a High Street-like retail strip. Each building is unique, but the centre offers many of the same stores found in big-box developments or malls. But unlike those shopping centres, people here congregate outdoors like they would in a town square. In the winter, customers are offered a free umbrella service to keep them dry.
"The Village is very much a destination for lots of people like empty nesters, seniors and baby boomers," said Nancy Small, director of marketing and sustainability for Park Royal.
This was Canada's first covered mall, built in the 1950s. But it recently was transformed into more of a community hub.
The design elements of the space create an atmosphere that is appealing to the demographic it caters to, Ms. Small said. Contributing to a sense of inclusiveness are centrally placed washrooms, sidewalks that accommodate wheelchairs and parking spaces near building entrances.
In addition, the designers recognized that the next generation of seniors are demanding more from their shopping experience. They want accessibility, but they also seek ambience.
Other businesses will have to adapt to create that experience if they want to stay competitive as baby boomers age. According to BC Stats, the province's main statistics agency, 18.3 per cent of its population will be older than 65 in the next 10 years.
In retirement communities on Vancouver Island, politicians have started to develop criteria that businesses can use to retain an aging consumer base. Judy Brownoff is a councillor in the district of Saanich and the co-chair of Canada's Age-Friendly Communities Initiative, which, with the World Health Organization, promotes active living for seniors.
"Are you going to have to spend a few dollars to adapt a bit? Yes," advised Ms. Brownoff. "[Seniors]still buy. They're still consumers in their older age."
Each year, the University of Victoria's Centre on Aging gives out senior-friendly business awards. Businesses are judged by the number of parking spots for seniors; how clear the signage is for washrooms, safety hazards and service; the number of handrails and coat hooks in washrooms; and how comfortable the seating is.
Last year, two of the awards went to local restaurants J.J. Morgan and Apple Tree. Both restaurants are spacious enough for walkers and wheelchairs, all seats have arms and the menu has large print, Ms. Brownoff said. The food is reasonably priced, and customers receive personalized attention from staff.
The restaurants won because they address the broad issues of accommodating the aging, said Holly Tuokko, the director of the Centre on Aging. But a new, more diverse group of seniors is emerging.
"People are living longer, healthier and more active lives," she said, "and there will continue to be those who may require additional age-associated accommodations, if the business wishes to attract them as customers."
The trick to providing those additional elements could mean going beyond building code to improve accessibility while also delivering it in a vibrant environment, said Geoff Cresswell, the managing director of MMC Architects.
He cited Vancouver's Granville Island Public Market as the type of shopping experience the next generation of seniors will seek. "It's such a great way to go shopping: the enjoyment of seeing well-displayed, fresh product," he said. "There's a whole sense of life - a person playing a violin beside you, sampling of foods. It's that sort of atmosphere which people are looking at far more in shopping centres."
West Vancouver's Park Royal is at the forefront of this movement.
In addition to standard features such as lower curbs and powered entrance doors, the Village's broad sidewalks, street furniture and patios offer consumers a place to take a break from shopping and socialize, creating the energy shoppers seek, no matter what physical condition they're in.
Fresh vegetables spill out of the doors of Whole Foods, echoing a community market. The mall boasts the city's first "urban" Home Depot, which showcases furnished rooms customers can put to the test. Two guest-service desks with live representatives handle queries from shoppers, including requests for loaner wheelchairs. Indoor tables are filled with elderly men playing chess, a fireplace burns in the food court, and in the summer, Ms. Small said, children take their shoes and socks off to play in the fountain, while shoppers of all ages look on.
"You want to be more than a shopping centre," she said. "You want to be more of a community centre. That's ultimately what's going to keep your customers coming back."
A CLASH OF IDEALS
Sometimes the same factors that prevent people with disabilities from visiting an establishment make logical sense from a business perspective. Tirtha Dhar, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of British Columbia, explained why.
The washroom is on another floor
Moving it to the ground floor can be expensive for small-business owners, Dr. Dhar said. It would also take up valuable space that could otherwise showcase product. "The other reason is pure aesthetics," he said. "It just doesn't look nice."
The music is too loud, and it interferes with hearing aids
The owners may want to create an atmosphere that targets young people, Dr. Dhar said. "If it's a fashion house and they're trying to attract the younger customers who like loud music, that's what's going to happen in those situations. They're not worried about older customers."
The doors are too heavy
A heavy door could connote luxury. "It does add a little bit of cost to make the door easier to open, but I don't think it's a huge cost for most companies," Dr. Dhar said.
Chairs don't have arms
Armless chairs could be a matter of aesthetics. But business owners also like how easily they stack. "It's much easier to store chairs without arms, so I think that's driving the decision in that case."
Products obstruct aisles
Some business owners think it's effective to place sale items in aisles where customers can't miss them, but Dr. Dhar says in this instance, it's a mistake. "When people have to bump into each other to look at a product, sales go down."