Leading on from our coverage last year on the over 50’s population growth and the changes we will have to make in marketing in sectors from finance to retail; from travel to fmcg. For years the young consumer has been the msut have acquisition for the marketing department, now this has changed and with this change comes a different mindset, with marketeets needing to change and adapt their propositions to the more mature consumer.

To give an indication of the opportunitity this group offers you only have to look at the latest new research from Verdict Consulting claiming UK consumers aged 65-74 will increase their retail expenditure by over three-quarters across the next ten years. This will make them the fastest growing age segment by some distance, although the over 75s will also see above average total spending growth. By 2017, the over 65s market will collectively be worth £64bn to UK retail compared to £39bn in 2007.

As this shift in mindset occurs it will produce an older consumer with a younger outlook: one who will shop for a far wider variety of products and who will be much more avaricious in their buying habits than older consumers today.

Comparatively, the younger age segments will all see relatively muted levels of spending growth