Healthy 50+ Americans: Trends and Opportunities in the Emerging Wellness Market

Published: April 2011
No. of Pages: 174
Price: $ 3850





This Packaged Facts report focuses on the market potential of the 26 million “Healthy Consumers” who are 50 years old and over and who are pursuing a wellness regime that includes healthy eating and regular exercise. Anchored by boomers who firmly believe that getting older means getting better, Packaged Facts’ Healthy 50+ Americans: Trends and Opportunities in the Emerging Wellness Market offers marketers a look into the future of an America where 50+ consumers will generate an increasingly large share of consumer spending power.

With an aggregate household income of $1 trillion, Healthy 50+ Consumers are prime targets for marketers of a wide range of consumer goods and services. Compared to others in their age group, they have higher household incomes and are more confident about the economy as a whole as well as their own financial futures. Healthy 50+ Consumers shop more often, dine out more regularly and travel more frequently. Healthy 50+ Consumers represent a demanding but lucrative consumer segment. For example, they look for quality when they buy clothes and seek out natural and organic products in the aisles of supermarkets and on the shelves of drug stores.

The report begins with a chapter on trends affecting the 50+ health and wellness consumer market and opportunities generated by Healthy 50+ Consumers and a chapter assessing the size and growth of the Healthy 50+ Consumer market. A chapter detailing the core values of 50+ consumers who aspire to health and wellness is followed by an analysis of the fitness activities and healthy eating habits of Healthy 50+ Consumers and an overview of their health management practices. The report continues with a chapter analyzing the financial status and financial management practices of Healthy 50+ Consumers and a chapter exploring their shopping and buying habits. The report concludes with an in-depth review of the leisure and entertainment choices of Healthy 50+ Consumers.

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Market Insights: A Selection From The Report
Women in the Vanguard of March to Wellness
Healthy 50+ Consumers are more likely to be women than men (53% vs. 47%). One reason for the gender disparity lies in the fact that women are more numerous in the 65+ age group as a whole because of the shorter life expectancy of men. [Table 3-2]

However, data compiled by Packaged Facts February 2011 Online Consumer Survey suggest that the preponderance of women among Healthy 50+ Consumers results from factors other than purely demographic ones. As seen in Figure 3-1, regardless of age, women are more likely than men to report that they are consciously pursuing wellness goals.

Entertainment Habits Generate Possibilities
As seen in Chapter 5, "Keeping Fit," and Chapter 9, "Leisure and Entertainment," pursuing wellness after 50 involves a higher level of activity than that associated with other consumers in the 50+ age group. Healthy 50+ Consumers account for 15% of those going to a family
restaurant/steak house in the last 30 days and 16% of those attending a live theater event in the past 12 months. At the same time, Healthy 50+ Consumers view reading as a valuable activity. They account for 13% of those buying books at a bookstore in the past 12 months.[Table 2-10]

Aging Boomers and Wellness Concerns Converge to Shift Thinking about Getting Old
Data compiled by Packaged Facts February 2011 Online Consumer Survey confirm the ongoing shifts in perceptions of aging on the part of 50+ consumers, especially among those committed to pursuing wellness. As seen in Table 2-1, respondents 50 years old and over whose daily routine is significantly affected by wellness goals and concerns are most likely to agree with the proposition "60 is the new 50 and 70 is the new 60." Nearly seven in 10 (68%) of 50+ consumers who are concerned with wellness have stretched their definitions of aging, compared to 58% of the 50+ age group as a whole and 62% of those under the age of 50 who are concerned about wellness in their daily lives.