Two-thirds of Baby Boomers in Australia say they have consumed an alcoholic beverage in the past month, compared to just over half of Millennials (aged 18-34) and 64% of Gen X (aged 35-54). So when it comes to alcoholic beverages, Baby Boomers (aged 55+) are a segment not to be ignored. Nielsen reports that Baby Boomers […]
brands
China’s online shopping behemoth wants Senior Experience Officers – Under 60’s need not apply!
Taobao, the online shopping mall, wants to hire two Chinese senior citizens, influential in their social circles and maintaining “harmonious” relationships with their children. They must also have at least one year of online shopping experience. Why the fuss? With well over 760 million product listings (March 2013), Taobao is one of the world’s most visited […]
Health and wellness of older consumers means big opportunities for FMCG companies
Older consumers say that health and wellness influences their product purchases. In fact, according to a report from GlobalData, 62% of consumers aged over 55 say that the way a product impacts their health and wellness often or always influences their product choice in food. Clearly, mortality is a powerful motivator to change behaviour. It’s a […]
Is the beauty industry changing the way it thinks about ageing, or is it just a new spin?
The beauty industry is caught between appearing youthful yet desperately clinging to their ageing customers. We see the signs everywhere; The increasing use of older women in advertising. For example Susan Sarandon, Helen Mirren and others promoting for L’Oreal. The move away from the expression ‘Anti-Ageing’. The Editor of Allure magazine has resolved to stop […]
Hearing-aids will become easier to buy. But will they be easy to use?
My brother-in-law suffered hearing loss attributed to years of working close to the squeal of a dentists drill. But he refused to wear a hearing-aid because of what others might think of him. In the USA, about 48 million people (20% of the population) have hearing loss in at least one ear, but just 14% […]
Blame boomers for the decline in electric guitar sales
In the past decade, electric guitar sales have plummeted, from about 1.5 million sold annually to just over 1 million.
Is ‘anti-ageing’ an ageist descriptor for brands?
Commonly used in the beauty world, I have long maintained that the expression ‘anti-ageing’ is ageist. It implies there’s something wrong with ageing. Imagine if skin-whitening treatments were positioned on an ‘anti-black’ platform! Now there are signs that the anti-ageing term is losing popularity. According to this article in Elle, Google reported that last year […]
Euromonitor reports on how global consumers are challenging ageing
This new white paper reveals findings from several of Euromonitor’s global research initiatives as well as economic and sales data to examine the effects of ageing populations on societies, health and buying behaviour and uncover the following trends for the senior consumer. It covers much of the same old stuff but with a few noteworthy contributions. […]
The best ageing strategy is no ageing strategy at all
After years of running a multi-generational advertising campaign that includes younger and older models, leading British retailer Marks & Spencer have now turned away from this strategy. Hooray! In a recent panel at Advertising Week Europe, Marks & Spencer’s brand and marketing director said “Bluntly categorising consumers based on age is “meaningless”. This Campaign Magazine […]
Luxury brands to gain from the ageing consumer
There are some refreshing surprises in this list of companies which a leading bank thinks will benefit from an ageing consumer base. Societe Generale has selected a list of 40 companies with metrics based on historical performance relative to GDP growth and current market cap. The 40 make up a ‘Silver Economy Index’ as reported […]
