Capturing 50-plus Year Olds Spending in 2006

Published by: Datamonitor

Published: Nov. 15, 2005 - 92 Pages

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction

The future decoded

50-plus year old consumers represent a large and growing group

Many older consumers are wealthy quality seekers

Huge diversity characterizes the Senior lifestage

Older consumers offer communication challenges

Attitudes towards ageing are changing

Health concerns increase with age

Seniors have strong convenience needs

Action points

CHAPTER 2 THE FUTURE DECODED

Introduction

Recognize the Senior consumer as consisting of two main groups

TREND: 50-plus consumers represent a large and growing demographic group

TREND: Empty Nesters are a rapidly growing group

The number of Early Empty Nesters is growing fastest

INSIGHT: Seniors' account for a significant amount of food, drink and personal care consumption

INSIGHT: 50-plus consumers are wealthy quality seekers

Seniors' higher incomes and wealth make them an attractive target segment

Seniors are driving a trend towards 'maturalism'

Older consumers are likely to trade up

High quality products are also chosen to facilitate indulgent cocooning occasions

INSIGHT: Huge diversity characterizes the Senior lifestage

'Period effects' must be understood for effective marketing

A diverse range of lifestyle groups reflects the lifestage diversity

Three main lifestyle/attitude groups exist

Seniority marks an important period of change and re-evaluation

Diverse incomes also reflect Senior lifestage complexity

Seniors employment patterns are becoming less predictable

Early retirement is becoming less practical for older consumers

INSIGHT: Older consumers offer communication challenges

Many older consumers are unable to relate to advertisements

Older consumers, especially Late Seniors, are able to comprehend the point of persuasion

Many current Seniors feel ignored, alienated and stereotyped by the advertising world

Seniors are cynical consumers of marketing spin

Seniors are also cynical about claims concerning product efficacy, especially with regard to health

Because of this cynicism older consumers are more likely than average to rely on word of mouth

Seniors are most concerned about having 'own age' role models in advertisements

Seniors are still not being used enough in product advertisements...

...but the tide is changing somewhat

Older consumers most expect marketing and products to reflect their personal situations

INSIGHT: Attitudes towards ageing are changing

Attitudinally, older consumers are showing more similarities to younger generations

Age is less useful as a role definer

Cool consumerism is becoming a relevant to the 50-plus market

Seniors' self-perception is shaped by their state of mind

Seniors typically feel 12-15 years younger than they actually are

But their physical abilities need to be considered

Age is often a source of pride

Retirement is about being active and adventurous

Older consumers are increasingly experimental and open to new experiences

Seniors are not necessarily brand loyal

Late Seniors are more likely to have established and more rigid preferences

Older consumers increasingly embrace new technologies

INSIGHT: Health concerns increase with age

Old age is a trigger point for a greater emphasis being placed upon health

50-plus consumers try to adopt healthier eating habits

Older consumers are cautious towards a broad range of issues

Weight problems are more pronounced with age

Early Seniors need energy and preventative health measures

Late Seniors are more focused on specific disease maintenance

Seniors are under-capitalized in the functional food arena

Seniors are becoming more active

Taking steps to reduce stress is highly relevant to older consumers

Time spent on personal appearance takes on added importance with age

Seniors account for more than a third of personal care occasions

Older consumers are under-served in haircare and skincare

Older consumers are important cosmeceutical consumers

INSIGHT: Seniors have strong convenience needs

Seniors are time maximizers having strong convenience needs

While Seniors value convenience they also want to maintain pride

Older consumers are under-targeted in the c-store arena

Conclusions

Demographic shifts will provide new impetus

CHAPTER 3 ACTION POINTS

Introduction

ACTION: Make Seniors inclusive of targeting efforts

Avoid the pitfalls of self-referential creatives

Shift the 'center of gravity' in your marketing campaigns

Tactic 1: Targeting older consumers' psychological age

Tactic 2: Make Senior focused brands more relevant to younger consumers

Use 'ageless marketing' to make older consumers inclusive

ACTION: Target Seniors' core values with your marketing concept

Connectedness: use scenes of family interaction and social bonding in communications

Self-sufficiency: create 'Senior friendly' packaging and product formats

Self-sufficiency: show Seniors as capable and sophisticated consumers

Communications should play to the positive values of maturity

Self-sufficiency: be careful in the use of language in advertising and packaging

Realism and honesty: strike a balance between realistic and aspirational messages

Reality, not iconography, is likely to produce the best results

Feature inspirational "real-life" contemporaries from their generation

Feature celebrities from their generation in advertising campaigns

Realism and honesty: target the media savvy older consumer with 'infomercials'

Prioritize communication methods that facilitate detailed information

They want to see a focus on product functionality

Realism and honesty: build word of mouth communication strategies to target older consumers

Tap into older consumers' nostalgia for youth

Personal growth: portray Senior lifestyles positively and communicate their active enjoyment of life

Communicate their active enjoyment of life

Case-study: Poise focusing on an uplifting message

Respect their wisdom and experience

Targeting their lifestyle activities and interests

Individualism: ensure that products are marketed for their specific needs and preferences

Offer more diversity for older consumers

Recognize the diversity of attitudes and needs of older consumers

ACTION: Target older consumers' growing emphasis on health

Extend trusted health brands

Stop promoting feelings of sacrifice, inadequacy or lack of control

Build relationships with the 'expert community'

Become a healthy lifestyle information provider

Target older consumers with functional and cosmeceutical products to address their specific health needs

Offer consumers the means to fight the signs of ageing

Target Seniors with nutraceuticals by highlighting product effectiveness

ACTION: Target the maturalism trend

Target Seniors with masstige and premium products

Ensure that quality is reflected by core product attributes

Promote products as an escapism from problems of old age

CHAPTER 4 APPENDIX

Definitions

Research methodology

References

How to contact experts in your industry

List of Tables

Table 1: Definition of consumer groups

Table 2: Population by age group (m), Europe and US, 1999-2009

Table 3: Senior populations in Western Europe and the US, by age, and country, 1999-2009

Table 4: Empty Nesters as a percentage of all Seniors, 1999-2009

Table 5: Number of Empty Nesters in Europe and the US (m), 1999-2009

Table 6: The % and overall market value (US$ million) accounted for by 45+ year old consumers' food consumption, by category (bakery, confectionery, dairy food, frozen food, meat, fish and poultry, ready meals and sauces), by country, 2004

Table 7: The % and overall market value (US$ million) accounted for by 45+ year old consumers' drinks consumption, by market (beer, cider, coffee, tea, bottled water, carbonates, juices and RTD tea & coffee), by country, 2004

Table 8: The % and overall market value (US$ million) accounted for by 45+ year old consumers' personal care consumption, by market (haircare, make-up, oral hygiene, personal hygiene, skincare), by country, 2004

Table 9: Mean disposable income per capita by age (€) in Europe and the US, 1998 - 2008

Table 10: The % of European and US consumers who enjoyed small indulgences to escape the pressures of everyday life 'more' or 'significantly more' in 2004

Table 11: Distribution of population by income group by age and country

Table 12: Seniors in employment (m) across Europe and the US , 2003

Table 13: The percentage of Boomers who completely or mostly agree that you needs to be cautious serving foods with specific nutrients

Table 14: Functional food and drink share of volume consumption by age group, Europe & US, 2004

Table 15: US health club membership, by age, 1987-2003

Table 16: Overall number of personal care occasions by age group, Europe and US combined, 2004-2009 (millions)

Table 17: The percentage of personal care consumption value by late Mid-Lifers and Seniors relative to their populations weightings, by category, 2004

Table 18: Consumer survey: percentage of consumers who would be willing to pay more for cosmetics and toiletries with active ingredients for their specific requirements by gender and age

Table 19: Proportion of Seniors living alone (%) in Europe and the US, 1995-2025

Table 20: The percentage of ready meal and frozen food consumption value by late Mid-Lifers and Seniors relative to their population weightings, 2004

Table 21: Shifting the centre of gravity is a key tactic in making older consumers inclusive of targeting efforts

Table 22: Examples of 'ageless marketing' in practice

Table 23: Best practice in packaging and format adaptation to better meet Seniors' needs

Table 24: An example of effectively appealing to Seniors' increasing tendency to seek fun, excitement and new experiences

Table 25: Examples of health products catering to Seniors

Table 26: Definition of terms

List of Figures

Figure 1: Actions for targeting Senior consumers can be grouped under seven core themes

Figure 2: The percentage of the population aged 50 and over will exceed 30% in all featured countries by 2009

Figure 3: Older consumers are more likely to cocoon: they regard their home as a "retreat from the outside world"

Figure 4: The sheer length of the Senior lifestage is representative of the diversity associated with Senior consumerism

Figure 5: Recognizing 'period effects' and how they shape older consumers' values, attitudes and behavior is crucial to developing successful marketing campaigns

Figure 6: Seniors can be targeted by recognizing three distinct lifestyle groups

Figure 7: Life events experienced that impact on consumption behavior

Figure 8: Consumers aged 50-64 are particularly cynical about health claims made by food and drinks players

Figure 9: Older consumers, distrusting of conventional media, are more likely than their younger counterparts to rely on word of mouth recommendations

Figure 10: As consumers age, they place more importance on advertising featuring characters their own age

Figure 11: Older consumers place a higher level of importance upon marketing that reflects their personal situation

Figure 12: Older consumers, especially those aged 65 and over, attach more importance than younger cohorts to customized solutions tailored to specific needs

Figure 13: Older consumers' aspirational ages reflect their fear of ageing and desire to be younger

Figure 14: 50-64 year olds' relative dislike of their age can be accounted for by an innate fear of ageing and a desire to maintain a youthful appearance

Figure 15: Older consumers now embody open-minded attitudes and show a similar propensity to other age cohorts in trying new things

Figure 16: The proportion of US consumers that try to stick to well-known brand names (1975-2000) does not significantly increase with age according to this study

Figure 17: Older consumers were most likely to have taken active steps to improve health in 2003-04, highlighting how old age can act as a trigger point towards making new lifestyle choices

Figure 18: Stress is a lifestyle problem also relevant to old age

Figure 19: The importance of spending time on personal appearance increases with age

Figure 20: Exploring the trigger points impacting cosmeceutical uptake highlights why older consumers are, and will continue to be, vital in driving the market forward

Figure 21: Summary: there are many actionable implications stemming from our insight into older consumers

Figure 22: Self-referential creative processes hinder effective targeting of older consumers

Figure 23: There are two core strategies which marketers can follow to ensure Seniors are incorporated into targeting efforts

Figure 24: Older consumers' aspirational ages reflect their fear of ageing and desire to be younger

Figure 25: Marketers should ensure that products and communications are aligned with 5 core values

Figure 26: Images used in the Dove "Real Beauty" campaign capitalize on older consumers' desire for attainable beauty

Figure 27: Two phases characterize successful viral and word of mouth campaigns

Figure 28: Fear of the visible signs of ageing will have the greatest influence on consumers' use of cosmeceuticals

Figure 29: Following these actions will help in attracting the quality seeking, wealthier older consumer

Abstract

• Analysis of social trends, generational experiences, and need states impacting Seniors lives and consumption behavior
• Comprehensive data profiling the proportion of consumption accounted for by older consumers, market and country
• Exhaustive review of best practice NPD and marketing campaigns from around the world
• Detailed Action Points pinpointing how to devise effective marketing concepts that will appeal to Senior consumers

• Maximise financial returns by effectively targeting the fastest growing demographic segment in Europe
• Access unique data highlighting the proportion of consumption accounted for by older consumers in different packaged good markets and categories
• Recognize key trends in Seniors' behavior and understand how to capitalize on the new opportunities revealed

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