EDITOR'S LETTER
A Moving Target

Trying to reach consumers has never been more difficult. With the old middle dying for more than a decade, the low end has moved up and the high end down to replace it. In automobiles, for example, both the trading up and trading down markets each grew by 8 percent between 1994 and 2004, while the mid-market shrunk by 12 percent.

All that's pretty clear-cut. But trying to define who is low-end and who is high is anything but easy. Take luxury for example. There's the traditional luxury consumer; the new experiential shopper who seeks products offering emotional satisfaction; and the wannabe luxury customer who looks for high-end names at mid price points.

It's easy for consultants to say, "You need to know who you are and who your customer is." The reality, however, is that today's consumer, whether shopping eyeglasses or wine glasses, doesn't fit into traditional buying modes.

That's exactly the point of "Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the New Consumer," written by Michael Silverstein, a Boston Consulting Group executive. In it, he talks about the new consumer—the business executive who drives a BMW but shops at Costco, or the housewife who reaches into her Coach bag to pay for purchases at Dollar General.

His point? Just because many of your customers (in optical's case, patients) count themselves among the country's 48 million middle-class households, don't make the mistake of buying only middle-of-the-road product. As Silverstein says, "Consumers will continue to pay a premium for goods that reinforce a sense of place and connection and provide an occasional moment of indulgence. They will also look for value that enables them to save money and protect their futures."

Sincerely,

Stephanie K. De Long

Editor-in-Chief