china daily雙語新聞：科技促兩代人購物習(xí)慣分化
The Ultican family has always approached Christmas shopping on overdrive, piling dozens of presents under a small forest of decorated trees. But the Ulticans and their four children wrangle the annual extravaganza in different ways, underscoring the challenge facing retailers as technological changes transform Americans' buying rituals.
每年臨近圣誕節(jié)時，奧蒂卡一家總是要瘋狂地進(jìn)行大采購，他們會在精心布置的幾棵圣誕樹下堆上幾十個禮物。但奧蒂卡夫婦和他們四個孩子一年一度血拼的方式卻各不相同，凸顯了零售商們在技術(shù)變革逐漸改變美國人購買習(xí)慣之際面臨的挑戰(zhàn)。
During a recent holiday shopping trip, Chris Ultican, a 54-year-old teacher, and her husband Kreg, a 56-year-old retired high-school administrator, happily wandered the suburban Easton Town Center mall here, sipping caramel frappuccinos and admiring the festive horse-drawn carriages.
54歲的克里斯·奧蒂卡(Chris Ultican)是一名教師，她的丈夫克雷格(Kreg)56歲，是一名退休的高中行政人員。在最近一次假日購物時，他們很開心地在郊區(qū)Easton Town Center購物中心溜達(dá)，喝著焦糖星冰樂，欣賞著洋溢著節(jié)日氣氛的馬車。
Mr. and Mrs. Ultican, who met as sales clerks at J.C. Penney Co. 35 years ago, say they are shopping more online these days, but they have yet to make a major purchase on their cellphones. For the mall, they came armed with clipped-out paper coupons.
奧蒂卡夫婦是35年前在J.C. Penney Co.做銷售員時認(rèn)識的。他們說現(xiàn)在在網(wǎng)上購物比較多，但很少在手機(jī)上進(jìn)行大采購。去購物中心的時候，他們拿了很多剪下來的紙質(zhì)優(yōu)惠券。
Their children are a different matter. Ranging from age 10 to 27, the offspring mostly ignore the holiday decor, and instead peer into their smartphones, comparing prices, looking for deals and seeking friends' advice about potential purchases.
他們的孩子則不同。他們的年齡在10到27歲之間，基本不怎么關(guān)注購物中心里的節(jié)假日裝飾，而是看著自己的智能手機(jī)，在上面對比價格和尋找優(yōu)惠，并詢問朋友的建議。
Daughter Danielle, 24, who works at a payroll company, is accustomed to receiving pitches through social media and email, so much so, she said, that it takes something special -- like a call to her cellphone from a saleswoman -- to grab her attention. 'A personalized call usually gets me in the store,' she said.
24歲的女兒丹妮爾(Danielle)在一家薪酬管理公司工作。她說，她習(xí)慣通過社交媒體和電子郵件接收促銷信息，所以需要很特別的方式才能抓住她的注意力，比如銷售人員親自打電話推銷。她說：“個性化的電話服務(wù)通常能讓我去店里看看。”
Despite a lot of looking, Danielle left the mall without spending any money. When she got home, though, she went online and bought herself a red lace dress she had seen earlier in the day at J. Crew Group Inc.'s Madewell. That is not surprising; about 70% of people age 18 to 34 plan to 'self gift' this year, compared with 44% of people over age 65, the National Retail Federation said.
雖然看了半天，但丹妮爾離開購物中心時并沒花多少錢。不過回到家后，她上網(wǎng)給自己買了在J. Crew Group Inc.旗下美德威爾(Madewell)品牌店鋪里看到過的一條紅色蕾絲裙子。這并不奇怪：據(jù)全美零售商聯(lián)合會(National Retail Federation)稱，今年約70%年齡在18至34歲的人打算“給自己買禮物”，65歲以上者的比例則為44%。
Little sister Drew, 10, uses her rhinestone-encased iPhone to post photos of potential purchases as she shops, while polling her friends with an Instagram app to get opinions on which clothes to wear to school the next day.
丹妮爾10歲的妹妹德魯（Drew）邊逛街，邊用她裝有貼鉆保護(hù)套的iPhone上傳自己想買東西的照片，用Instagram應(yīng)用程序調(diào)查朋友們的看法，根據(jù)他們的投票選擇第二天上學(xué)穿的衣服。
Retail chains are struggling with how to respond to families like the Ulticans, hoping to capture the attention of the so-called Millennial generation, ages 16 to 34, but fearful that moving too fast will alienate baby boomers.
零售連鎖店正為如何應(yīng)對奧蒂卡家這樣的家庭而苦惱，他們希望能吸引16至34歲所謂的“新千年一代”的注意力，同時又擔(dān)心速度太快會疏遠(yuǎn)嬰兒潮一代。
The 79 million people who make up the Millennial generation wield $200 billion in annual spending power. While that is only a sliver of the $3.4 trillion that baby boomers spend each year, analysts say, retailers need to try to nab those younger shoppers now, because their spending is likely to rival the boomers' as early as 2020 and they already exert a disproportionate influence on their parents' spending decisions.
新千年一代在美國有7,900萬人，年購買力為2,000億美元。分析人士說，盡管和嬰兒潮一代3.4萬億美元的購買力相比，這個數(shù)字是小巫見大巫，但零售商必須現(xiàn)在就抓住這些年輕人，因?yàn)樗麄兊馁徺I力很有可能在2020年就能趕上嬰兒潮一代，況且他們已經(jīng)對父母的購買決策施加著異常重要的影響力。
Moreover, during the holidays, shoppers age 25 to 44 plan to spend the most of any age group, about $820, according to the NRF. But shoppers aged 45 to 64 are also heavy spenders, planning to spend about $760.
此外，全美零售商聯(lián)合會稱，在節(jié)假日期間，25至44歲的消費(fèi)者的預(yù)計(jì)消費(fèi)金額在所有年齡群中，約為820美元。但45至64歲的消費(fèi)者也不示弱，預(yù)計(jì)消費(fèi)金額約為760美元。
At Macy's, Mrs. Ultican dug through her purse for a 20% off coupon to buy a pair of boots. Although she couldn't find the coupon, she successfully persuaded the saleswoman to give her the discount anyway. The boots joined two shopping bags of loot from Justice, a tween apparel chain owned by Ascena Retail Group Inc. The bags were crammed with jeans, sweaters and a $75 sparkly blue makeup case Mrs. Ultican bought using a 50%-off coupon.
在梅西百貨(Macy's)，克里斯要買一雙靴子，她伸手想從錢包里掏出一張八折優(yōu)惠券。雖然她沒找到那張優(yōu)惠券，但她成功地說服銷售員給她打了折。這雙靴子加入了從Justice所獲兩袋戰(zhàn)利品的行列。Justice是Ascena Retail Group Inc.服裝集團(tuán)公司旗下十幾歲兒童服裝專賣連鎖店。兩個購物袋裝滿了牛仔褲、毛衣和一個克里斯用五折優(yōu)惠券買到的75美元的亮藍(lán)色化妝包。
Her son Derek, a 26-year-old Ohio State student, who is also a loyal Macy's customer, told his mom he prefers to shop online and search for coupon codes rather than keep track of offers in the mail. He didn't buy anything at the mall but picked out a Timex watch at Nordstrom for Santa to bring. He said he plans to do his holiday shopping on macys.com.
她26歲的兒子德雷克(Derek)是俄亥俄州立大學(xué)(Ohio State University)的學(xué)生，他也是梅西百貨的忠實(shí)顧客。他對母親說，他喜歡在網(wǎng)上購物，在網(wǎng)上搜索優(yōu)惠券代碼，不喜歡關(guān)注紙質(zhì)郵件里的促銷。他沒在購物中心買東西，但在諾德斯特龍(Nordstrom)選了一款天美時（Timex）手表，等著“圣誕老人”送給他。他說他今年節(jié)假日打算在macys.com上購物。
Derek's brother Dustin, 27, also would rather be anywhere but a physical store. The real-estate agent says he shops 'only when I need something,' and favors discounters like Target Corp. He focuses his spending on big, important items, like his new, white Audi and left the mall empty-handed.
德雷克27歲的哥哥達(dá)斯汀(Dustin)也不喜歡逛實(shí)體店。他是一名房地產(chǎn)經(jīng)紀(jì)人。他說他“只有在有需求的時候”才會購物，而且比較喜歡Target Corp.這樣的折扣店。他的主要開銷都是大件商品，比如他新買的白色奧迪（Audi）。他也兩手空空地離開了購物中心。
Retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Best Buy Co. are trying to target younger consumers this holiday season by offering some of their in-store deals online, while others such as Macy's and Sears Holdings Inc. are launching new brands and websites that cater to a younger generation.
今年節(jié)假日，包括沃爾瑪(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)和百思買(Best Buy Co.)在內(nèi)的零售商正努力通過在網(wǎng)上提供實(shí)體店部分促銷來吸引年輕消費(fèi)者，而梅西和西爾斯(Sears Holdings Inc.)等零售商也推出了專門針對年輕人的新品牌和新網(wǎng)站。
Technology plays an increasing role in the generational shopping split. Millennials are 2½ times more likely to be early adopters of technology than older generations, serving as a leading indicator for retailers that was an idea of what is likely to become mainstream, said Christine Barton, a partner at Boston Consulting Group. Millennials are more likely than older shoppers to check out brands on social networks (53% versus 37%) and use mobile devices to read reviews, research products and compare prices while shopping (50% versus 21%), according to a recent BCG/Barkley report.
科技在兩代人的這種購物習(xí)慣分化中起到了越來越重要的作用。波士頓咨詢集團(tuán)(Boston Consulting Group)合伙人克里斯汀·巴爾頓(Christine Barton)說，新千年一代接受新科技的速度是上一代人的2.5倍，對于零售商而言這是判斷未來購物主要趨勢的一個重要信號。波士頓咨詢公司與巴克萊銀行(Barkley)最近合作的一份報告稱，新千年一代比上一代人更有可能在社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)上查看品牌信息（比例分別為53%和37%），也更愿意在購物時使用移動服務(wù)查看產(chǎn)品評論、研究產(chǎn)品以及對比價格（比例分別為50%和21%）。
Macy's, which created a separate Millennial division this year, has sectioned off parts of its department stores to house Impulse and MStyle Lab, boutique-like spaces with bright signage and pop music to attract shoppers ages 13 to 30.
梅西百貨今年成立了一個獨(dú)立的“新千年一代部門”，將商場的一部分空間騰出來作為Impulse和MStyle Lab空間，里面裝潢精致，利用明亮的標(biāo)牌和流行音樂吸引13至30歲的消費(fèi)者。
'To get them into our stores we're going to have to do things differently,' said Molly Langenstein, Macy's millennial merchandise chief.
梅西百貨新千年一代商品部主管莫莉·蘭根斯坦(Molly Langenstein)說：“想讓他們進(jìn)我們的店，我們就得做點(diǎn)與眾不同的事情。”
Retailers can run the risk of taking the quest for youth too far. In an attempt to overhaul its century-old store in search for younger customers, J.C. Penney has remodeled stores, altered its merchandise mix, changed its logo and, most of all, is eschewing special discounts in favor of overall lower prices. But so far the plan has largely backfired: Penney's sales fell 27% in the three months ended Oct. 27, in a fourth consecutive quarterly drop.
零售商迎合年輕消費(fèi)者的做法可能有過火的風(fēng)險。為迎合年輕消費(fèi)者，百年老店J.C. Penney對店鋪進(jìn)行了改頭換面，更改了商品組合和品牌標(biāo)識，最重要的是盡量不搞特別優(yōu)惠，而采用全面降價。但目前為止，這項(xiàng)計(jì)劃基本上起到了反作用：在截止10月27日的那三個月里，J.C. Penney的銷售額下跌了27%，連續(xù)第四個季度呈下跌趨勢。
'Younger shoppers don't want to go to stores where their mothers shop and older shoppers are just confused,' NPD Group strategist Marshal Cohen said.
研究公司NPD集團(tuán)策略師馬歇爾·科恩(Marshal Cohen)說：“年輕的消費(fèi)者不愿意去自己母親購物的商場，而年紀(jì)較大的消費(fèi)者又感到茫然。”
Customers may be hesitant about the changes at the retailing chain, said Penney spokeswoman Daphne Avila, but over time they will find 'a unique store experience that can be enjoyed at any age.'
J.C. Penney發(fā)言人達(dá)芙妮·阿韋拉(Daphne Avila)說，顧客現(xiàn)在可能對商店的變化表現(xiàn)出觀望態(tài)度，但隨著時間的推移，他們會發(fā)現(xiàn)“一種在任何年齡都可以享受的獨(dú)特購物體驗(yàn)”。
Impressions are hard to change, though. While Mrs. Ultican says she was raised going to Penney, where 'you never buy things full price,' her daughter Drew refers to Penney as a place 'for old people.'
不過印象是很難改變的?？死锼拐f自己從小就去J.C. Penney，在那里絕不會“買全價商品”，而女兒德魯則認(rèn)為那是“老年人購物的地方”。
Meanwhile, with her phone Drew points her mother to Christmas gifts, highlighting the best deals on things including Amazon.com's latest tablet.
與此同時，德魯通過手機(jī)向媽媽展示自己想要的圣誕禮物，特別指出包括亞馬遜(Amazon.com)最新平板電腦在內(nèi)的各類優(yōu)惠。
'This year she wants a Kindle for Christmas,' Mrs. Ultican said of Drew. 'I'm not really even sure what that does.'
克里斯說：“今年圣誕節(jié)她想買個Kindle，我都不知道那東西是干什么的?！?