SMART Show keynote speaker Paco Underhill reminds us that staying relevant may require us to adjust how we think.

In one important way, it may well be, contends Paco Underhill, author of Why We Buy and What Women Want.

Jewelers are “missing the boat,” by having an outdated view of customers as the “Ozzie and Harriet market,” Underhill says.

“Less than 25 percent of American households have a mother, a father and dependent children,” Underhill reminds us. “Whether it’s someone on their fifth marriage, whether it’s a gay couple, or a 50-year-old with his 25-year-old trophy girlfriend, all of those situations exist out there and should be applicable to the customer base.”

Get more actionable advice from the world’s leading retail environment expert at The SMART Show. Paco Underhill’s must-see keynote session takes place on Saturday, April 18, at 8:30 a.m., and is sponsored by Synchrony Financial.

This excerpt is from a story by Eileen McClelland in the March, 2011, edition of INSTORE.