For marketers and advertisers, looking towards the future can be both exciting and unnerving. The way we work is always changing – from how we collect data, to the technology we use to segment and target our key audiences.
But for all of the time we spend considering how the industry works, we also can’t lose sight of who is at the centre of it all.
While it’s true that we’re data-obsessed, collecting every bit of information that reveals our target audience’s current wants, needs and aspirations, we might be missing the bigger picture and a very important shift if we don’t take a moment to zoom out a little and see our audience from a different perspective.
Right now, a monumental change is reshaping the very foundation of America. More specifically, the nation is ageing. Rapidly. Demographic trends reveal that by 2030 – which is not as far away as it sounds – one in every five Americans will be over the age of 65. By 2060, that will become one in every four.
So why should marketers care?
Seniors hold the greatest amount of wealth
To give perspective on why this demographic shift is such a shake-up, consider that, currently, approximately 1.5 in every 10 Americans is over the age of 65. Consider, also, that in just one short decade, that ratio will transform to one in every five. With numbers like that, it’s hard to ignore the developing economic impact. While health care is obviously bracing for what some refer to as the ‘grey tsunami’, the ripple effect of an older demographic is much more far-reaching.
What we know today is that the average age of a senior caregiver is a middle-aged, Gen X female, and she’s likely to be a relative. In 2030, that woman will be a member of the Millennial generation, a demographic that is experiencing the fastest growth in wealth. Plus, as a woman, she controls the majority of a household’s spending.
Additionally, in 2030, the 65-year-olds and over are very different seniors to the ones that we know today. They aren’t part of the Great Generation, who have experienced depression and war; they are Baby Boomers, the generation that holds the greatest amount of wealth in the US.
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