Talkback: Greying not decaying, they can't be ignored

"Increasingly recognised, largely misunderstood." That has been the lot of the post-war baby boomers since the 1960s when their presence sparked the consumer era.

Astute business and marketing teams are now fast appreciating the economic power of these grey nomads who control 76 per cent of the nation's disposable and discretionary wealth. That represents an immense capacity to earn, invest and spend, often in a discerning manner without the constraints of high debt levels.

Moreover, demographers now forecast that by 2015 the Australian and New Zealand populations will have more people aged 50 and older than will be aged under 20.

Significantly, the words of Pete Townshend, leader of the 60s English pop group The Who still have currency: "I hope I die before I get old."

The life expectations of those in the mature market seem to be endlessly elastic. Indeed, the 50s is now deemed to be middle-age.

Therefore, these consumers do not consider themselves to be old, greying or decaying. Their self-perceived key attributes are independence and activity. They want to be recognised and respected. Highly structured bus tours and passive pursuits hold little appeal on holiday.

Women in particular tend to want to go to extremes and experience the thrill of tandem parachuting, bungy jumping and white-water rafting.

The baby boomers are also inclined to be leaders rather than followers. It is they who are most influencing the drift in household expenditure to services, in preference to consumption of more goods.

This was evident last Christmas with the higher expenditure by families eating out, holidaying, hiring yachts and experiencing life challenges. Each was part of Christmas gift giving. That trend is here to stay and will increase.

Interestingly, for those in the mature market segment, home is where the heart is. They are spending more time at, and more money on, their home than ever before. Family unit sizes are declining as a consequence of the falling fertility rate. But house sizes are increasing.

Television sets are being replaced with home entertainment systems. The mature male now spends more each year on computer games than he does on videos or DVDs for home entertainment.

It is the male post-war baby boomers who represent the greatest demand potential for retail pharmacies and other health professionals. They are discovering their own bodies, but not their own mortality. They have a lust for life and a desire to live well and "forever".

Expenditure on health, medicine and wellbeing is expected to quadruple during the next 20 years. Now that is healthy.

To convert that potential into sales will require retail pharmacists to change their thinking and pharmacies their presentations, product mixes and staff profiles.

A particular point of appeal of the mature consumer is that they are typically more loyal and influenced by the inherent reassurance of brand names than those aged under 40. They recognise value and willingly pay for the trust of a proven product, service or relationship.

Many business owners and marketers will need to place greater emphasis on satisfying the needs of this numerically and economically important market segment with respect to the two largest industry sectors in the world, being finance and tourism. These consumers may not be here for a long time, but they are here for a good time.

* Barry Urquhart is managing director of Perth-based market research and strategic planning company Marketing Focus, an author, retail analyst and a regular speaker at conferences in New Zealand.