Stores, the kind you can walk into, face intense competition from the kind that exist only on a computer screen. To increase foot traffic, Brookline has joined a global effort to make stores there appealing to senior citizens. About 50 establishments there have made the move.
Frank Caro, 82, is one of the volunteer founders of the Brookline Community Aging Network. A few years ago, he urged his hometown to join a global effort, the World Health Organization’s network of age-friendly cities. AARP administers the effort in this country. Yarmouth is the other age-friendly community in Massachusetts.
Caro has lived in Brookline for decades and still enjoys getting out of the house. Like many people, as he’s gotten older he’s had to adapt — in his case, to partial hearing loss.
“Some people are looking for an environment that isn’t too noisy,” Caro said as he wore a hearing aid at Eureka Puzzles, one of his favorite places to shop.
Caro likes shopping at the Brookline store because it caters to older customers. Bright and spacious, the store is not too loud. Eureka puzzles also sells jumbo print puzzles, a plus for people who no longer have razor-sharp vision.
Caro said those kind of small things can make a big difference.
“We live in a world where older people want to continue to live successfully in their communities,” Caro said. “It’s important for them to get out and be engaged.”
In Brookline, businesses that meet the guidelines are given an age-friendly designation that comes with a window decal.
Eureka Puzzles owner David Leshinsky said getting the designation has led to an increase in senior customers in his store.
“We have large format playing cards,” Leshinsky said. “We’ll even bring in Braille dice when needed.”
Leshinsky said he also made the store more accessible by pushing back shelves to create more aisle space to accommodate customers who use wheelchairs and walkers.
Elenore Parker, another volunteer with the Brookline Community Aging Network, said sometimes accommodations for seniors can be as simple as adding a few chairs so they can take a rest.
“They might have trouble standing that they need to be sitting down,” Parker said.
Another accommodation can be making products easier for seniors to reach “without having to climb up ladders,” Parker said.
Caro said small adjustments can go a long way and encourage seniors like him to shop.
“They need to have some kind of reason to come out,” Caro said. “They need places to go.”
