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Power to the (Older) People

MusingsYou probably remember one of the slogans of our youth, "Power to the People." Today, we might be able to modify that slogan to proclaim, "Power to the Older People." Perhaps you don't realize it, but the Boomer generation is today and in the near future the most influential in terms of economic impact. 

The McKinsey Global Institute, a division of consulting firm McKinsey and Company, recently analyzed the 60+ age group globally in its report, "Urban World: The Global Consumers to Watch." According to the report:

"The largest elderly consumer markets today are in developed economies where their number will grow by a third between 2015 and 2030. These consumers will generate 20% of global consumption growth over this period. In comparison, European millennials will contribute less than 2%.

"In developed economies, they will account for 50% of all urban consumption growth from 2015 to 2030 — $4.4 trillion. In Western Europe and Northeast Asia (Japan and South Korea), these individuals will account for about 60% of urban consumption growth. ...

"In the United States, they will contribute more than 40% of consumption growth in housing, transport, and entertainment. People over 50 bought over 60% of the new cars sold in the United States in 2010, up from less than 40% in 2001, according to one study. The elderly increasingly want to age in their own homes. A decade ago, U.S. citizens aged 55 and older accounted for less than 33% of all spending on home improvement. By 2011, this share was more than 45%."

The bottom line is our age group has considerable economic power, and increasingly, companies will need to cater to us with products and services that meet our needs. So take advantage of your age and repeat after me: Power to the Older People!

Comments

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Jim Farris

These very interesting facts confirm what I already suspected. I am at the tail end of the Boomer Generation, and I can now see that our generation is starting on a retirement boom. I don't want to spend my retirement sitting on the couch or wasting away in some home. I'm looking forward to my later years as the years when I will fulfill my life's dreams.

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