Aging Populations: The Senior Consumer

Senior consumers no longer see themselves as 'old', but instead see age as a badge of honor. Many assumptions about Seniors are being challenged, as social norms and circumstances change. With important consequences for the personal care market, taking care of appearance and health with personal care products affirms their commitment to aging well regardless of personal circumstances. Globally, at least 90% of consumers in any age group attach a high level of importance to good personal hygiene. According to Datamonitor's 2008 consumer survey, Seniors are more likely to state it is important or very important as a factor in maintaining wellness and creating a feeling of wellbeing than any other age group. A little over 70% of Young Adults globally are sufficiently concerned about economic downturn that they are beginning to make changes to their lifestyles to make their spending more financially sustainable. The proportion of Seniors who say they will make similar changes is appreciably lower at 55%. For Seniors, the most important criteria in selecting personal care products is price, with more than 50% of all Seniors stating this factor exerts either a high, or very high level of influence on purchase decision. Price also becomes more important with age, growing further among late Seniors.