The Mature Market – Baby Boomers and up
The world is just not about people ages 13-49. The senior market is about to become the most significant market segment that will redefine products, service and life-style industries. Mature people ages 55+ represent a significantly growing segment of the world population, the wealthiest, most demanding and savvy consumers.
Senior baby-boomers are living an enthusiastic second youth. From 55+ on they enjoy new life style freedoms – financial relief, empty nest, a lot of time, money and a desire to spend on the preservation of a quality life – comfort, active leisure, they fight age, take better care of themselves, food, sports, medicine, they go out, have fun, travel,
Mature people own more homes, purchase almost 45% of convenience cars, leisure packages, furniture, invest a lot more in their life style, entertainment, well being preservation, physical and mental preservation. They have fun, travel, go out, entertain, and consume culture. They are wealthier, healthier, active, vibrant, involved, self-indulgent, they want to have fun, live well, they relive with their grandchildren what they were too busy to experience with their children.
And yet, seniors are almost invisible to the world of marketing and advertising dominated by people ages 25-45 who target their own peer group and can not reflect from their life style choices and usability patterns on the needs and interactions of people 50 years +.
The accommodation of the special needs of this segment of the population will open opportunities for new services and markets and will dictate altering, adjusting and versioning for the new needs of this sector. Yet there is a big discrepancy in the products, services, communications and offerings for the elderly consumer and the accommodation to their special needs.
The aging Boomers are redefining a second youth
The mature market is not an “old” market. At 50+ , the physical age is just one factor, and not necessarily the dominant one, to determine life-style offerings. The baby –boomers, the largest segment of the population, born between the years 1946-1964 will be aging in the coming years, and this critical age mass will change attitudes and offerings to age and will open new markets and opportunities.
Embracing the attitude of “60 is the new 30” opens up a market of hundreds of billions. It is not a homogeneous market. It can be sub-segmented to reflect attitudes, needs, life-style and preferences. They have the disposable income and the time for good life, new comforts at home, new life-style of entertainment, traveling, consuming, communications and independent living and quality of life preservation through a longer period of time.
With free time and free income to enjoy life – they can enjoy additional 20-40 years of active life.
It is time to address the emerging life style needs of the mature population.
In spite of the huge marketing potential of the mature population, there is a big discrepancy in the products, services, communications and offerings for the elderly consumer and the accommodation to their special needs.
Senior- user oriented tailored conceptualization and design is not a luxury. Lack of adaptation to the needs, preferences and accommodation to usability capabilities, can be the make or break of a user's choice to interact with a product/service.