Health and Wellness Products Drive Senior Spending

Seniors’ spending on consumer packaged goods (CPGs) is on the rise, giving product marketers an opportunity to capitalize on an age group that will make up nearly one-quarter of the U.S. population in 25 years.

Combined, boomers and seniors, born between 1925 and 1964, spent more than $200 billion on CPGs during the past year, an increase of 1.5% over the prior year at a time when industry sales were largely stagnant, according to a report published by market research company IRI.

The biggest opportunity to carve out growth in the competitive environment, the report says, lies within the health and wellness sector, as seniors spend an average of 8% of CPG dollars on nonprescription health care products. This spending is expected to total more than $18 billion in 2020.

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Because of this, a “healthier for you” marketing technique has emerged as a significant opportunity in the CPG market, with studies showing that 75% of consumers are focused on living a healthier lifestyle.

“Many of these consumers are investing in healthier living today to minimize long-term health care expenditures,” the report states.

To capitalize on this trend, CPG marketers must maintain finely tuned customer activation strategies and push the trend of healthier living. They should, among other actions, educate consumers about common health-related issues and the benefits of products or ingredients found in health care aisles; emphasize the important role nutrition and prevention play in healthier living; drive growth in a stagnant anti-aging skin care market with customize products and targeted marketing programs; and engage through traditional media.

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In doing so, marketers will reap the benefits of the growing population.

“Embracing and acting on the notion of proactive wellness and disease state management is crucial for CPG marketers that are looking to activate older consumers and protect and grow share within the mature marketplace, where a gain of even a fraction of one share point translates to hundreds of millions of dollars.”

To read the full report, click here.

Written by Emily Study

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