How to Profit From the Booming Senior Market

By Rieva Lesonsky

Are you looking for a hot, affluent and growing market to target? Consider seniors.

Although older Americans are often overlooked in the rush to target hipper, younger groups as customers, in reality, seniors are a huge market—and getting bigger. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Americans aged 65 and up account for 12 percent of the population (or about 37 million people). What’s more, by 2030, the Census Bureau projects people over 65 will account for 20 percent of the population.

One reason seniors are such a profitable market is that they’re typically underserved. In a recent MarketWatch article on the topic, Internet expert Jakob Nielsen says though there’s far more interest in catering to teenagers, “there is probably 10 times as much money to be made from seniors.”

Seniors have far more income than teens—and in fact are affluent overall, MarketWatch reports. The median net worth of households aged 65 and over was $108,885 in 2000, while those under age 35 had a median household net worth of just $7,240. Seniors are also more likely to be homeowners (81 percent of those 65 and up own homes, compared with the overall average of 68 percent).

Where are seniors concentrated? MarketWatch reports that according to the 2004 Census, seven states have the highest 65-plus population:

• California (3.8 million)
• Florida (2.9 million)
• New York (2.5 million)
• Texas (2.2 million)
• Pennsylvania (1.9 million)
• Ohio (1.5 million)
• Illinois (1.5 million)

Of course, thanks to the Internet, you don’t have to be where seniors are to cater to them. The number of Internet users 65 and up is growing, with people age 55-plus one of the fastest-growing groups of new users on Facebook, for instance.

What are seniors interested in? For those who are homeowners, a big item of interest is “aging in place” modifications that enable them to stay in their homes longer, such as widening doors for wheelchair or walker access, or adding safety rails in bathrooms. To avoid needing those things, seniors are also working hard to stay young and healthy, so products related to health and fitness that allow them to continue an active lifestyle are big sellers.

With more seniors staying active longer and lots of disposable income, this group is very interested in travel-related products and services, as well as dining out. When it comes to travel, “experiences” are big—and lots of seniors enjoy taking younger family members along.

Speaking of younger family members, don’t forget that seniors love to dote on their grandchildren. If you are marketing products for children, be sure you include a pitch to seniors in your marketing materials.

Image by Flickr user Samyy Mason (Creative Commons)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 16th, 2011 at 6:00 am and is filed under Marketing, Small Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.


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