Live not Save

European population is getting older, people are living longer and older people are enjoying better health and better economy.
By 2030, there will be 24 million people aged 55 to 64 and 34.7 million citizens aged over 80 (compared to 18.8 million today) in EU. The number of people 80+ will grow by 180% by 2050!


It will definitely cause the problems to the future European society, but there is also another more positive side of the story - especially for companies and marketers. As the modern pensioners aren't just a grandparents. They have challenged and changed the way older people live and are. Stereotype is broken, the new consumption class has been born - seniors.



Do you remember Dove's campaign for the real beauty and one of their models - Irene Sinclair. At the age of 96, Irene Sinclair, a grandmother from north London, has joined Kate Moss, Scarlett Johansson, and other famous beauties,  as the "face" of an international beauty campaign.

The campaign, objective was to challenge conventional notions of beauty and of course sell more products. The results were astonishing - the Dove cream sales increased with 700%.

Dove hit the right target group, people over 60-ties, who are the biggest, growing and the wealthiest consumer group in Europe. The average annual disposable income of person aged 65-75 years is $60.000 (35 - 45 years old people have $46.000). They not only have the money, but lots of free time.
According to Henley Management College research, 7 out of 10 just retired Britons aren't going to save but spend the money to fulfill their whims, dreams from the youth - luxury cars (today every second car in Europe is bought by people over 60 years old), travel, and so on.

This is the mega trend, companies must face and adapt to, as the power of people 60+ will increase and they will decide what's hot and what sells. They will decide which companies survive.

Cars are one of the high demand products for 60+ people. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, by 2015, 70% of all car buyers will be people over 50 years old. Already today, some car manufacturers design their vehicles to meet the needs of older people. For example Ferrari changed the height of door, so there is more space when you get in the car, Ford makes cars that are equipped for people having problems with their spine.

Cosmetics are also highly demanded product. The people over 50 years old are the biggest spenders in the category, they spend 8 times more as the teenagers. No wonder producers are very interested in their wallets and create the special series of products for mature skin, like Nivea Visage DNAge or Loreal Age Perfect.

Through the past decades products, services and advertising were targeted to youth. Today this's changed - the low fertility rates, better health and longer life, brought the significant growth of seniors. They are in majority and they have power over producers - the power they execute with their wallets. More companies notice the need for adapting the product portfolio to the needs of older people. Different people and different generations are diverse and have different needs. They need to be met by companies and their products. After all, youth isn't answer to everything, and it doesn't last forever :-).

Tags: Consumers, Demography, Trends, Senior, Aging, Marketing