Growth Opportunities for Capturing Value in Baby Boomers

Rethinking Business Strategies as Seniors Delay Retirement and Continue to Influence Consumer Spending

Globally, the aging population is enlarging, and this group’s participation in the labor market is increasing accordingly. By 2030, people aged 60 and above are expected to outnumber children under age 10 by 60 million. Projections estimate a 30% growth in labor participation from the 65+ age group. At global scale, the increase in life expectancy promotes even more age-diverse workforces as well as a delay in retirement, as seen currently. In this context, baby boomers, individuals born between 1950 and 1965, are increasingly adopting artificial intelligence (AI)-based technologies and internet-enabled services to help support their basic needs. Even more so with the COVID-19 pandemic, the way in which boomers engage with high-tech is a cross-industry trend that offers huge potential.

As the wealthiest social cohort, baby boomers influence key purchasing decisions. In the United States alone, boomers held nearly $59 trillion in household wealth in 2020. Their wealth doubles that of gen X and outnumbers that of millennials, who are just entering the prime of adulthood. This generational patterned distribution of wealth is also seen in Europe and Asia, which means that the boomers have a global capacity for driving major trends in consuming, spending, and funding.

Major growth opportunities associated with boomer-aged consumers will emerge in health tracking and monitoring, guidance and customer care, and financial planning for retirement. Better outcomes can be expected from countries and enterprises that invest in technologies such as AI and biometric trackers, dashboards for an easier wealth management, and trained agents (human or robots) applied to guidance and education support.

This study offers a look at the impact the baby boomer generation has on several markets, which are projected to draw formidable revenue from this social cohort during the current decade. The changes driven by this segment are most noticeable in the healthcare, financial services, and customer care industries. In these key areas, baby boomers are a highly valuable consumer target, and the data regarding their consumption patterns represents a profitable asset. Companies that want to focus on marketing to baby boomers have a significant opportunity to leverage seniors’ need for both inclusion and independence.

Key Issues Addressed

• What are the key factors and indicators driving the market for aging consumers?
• How is this age group driving the innovation and commercialization of specific products and services?
• What are the key growth opportunities to watch out for during the next decade?
• What are the critical success factors for growth among governments and companies seeking to address this demographic?