BABY BOOMERS - A BOOMING MARKET?

That's how many baby boomers there are in the US alone.

Shopping can be a most frustrating experience if you are a baby boomer. Retail businesses are still focusing on the youth market. Either they haven't read the statistics or are slow to respond to the changing market demographics.

Baby boomers (those born between 1946-64) wield significant purchasing power, both individually and collectively because of their numbers. This trend is not going to reverse anytime soon.

Yet why are businesses and industry stakeholders not paying attention to the booming baby boomer market?



Take clothes for example. It is virtually impossible to shop for attractive clothes that fit the shape and taste of the boomers. Why do retailers assume that most women above 60 go only for frumpy, auntie-type clothes in funereal shades of grey and black?



Baby boomers want to look young, feel young and be independent. They want to enjoy life, travel, learn new things, pick up new hobbies and make new friends. Entreprenuers who understand what baby boomers want and can deliver will stand to make money.

Retirement housing, recreation, restaurants, travel and hospitality, entertainment, healthcare, beauty and fitness, financial services, transport, technology, lifelong education - these are just a few of the many industries that are set to prosper as the population ages.

If investors can capitalize on the needs (and wants) of baby boomers, they can be assured of handsome returns.