Retailers See Gay Population as Next Audience to Court

Photo ~ J.C. Penney hired Ellen DeGeneres, who is openly gay, as the retail chain's spokeswoman. Retailers See Gay Population as Next Audience to Court Retailers are becoming a lot less closeted. They …More
Photo ~ J.C. Penney hired Ellen DeGeneres, who is openly gay, as the retail chain's spokeswoman.
Retailers See Gay Population as Next Audience to Court
Retailers are becoming a lot less closeted.
They are turning their attention to gays and lesbians, a group that wields substantial buying power but isn't fully integrated into mainstream advertising. Similar to other moves to attract different minority groups, the push comes with risks, as it could threaten the retailers' relationships with some of their longtime shoppers.
Nonetheless, from J.C. Penney Co.'s (JCP) high-profile hiring of openly gay television personality Ellen DeGeneres as its spokeswoman to Target Corp.'s (TGT) selling of same-sex greeting cards, retailers are testing ways to cozy up to a community that by one estimate is as many as 16 million strong and has almost double the disposable income of the average American, some $49,000 per capita versus $26,000.
J.C. Penney has been more aggressive than other large retailers …More
delagotti
thanks god.......i am only shopping at walmart!