Accepted wisdom portrays the aging baby boomer population as fussy, dynamic and not short of a few bob. Bernice Hurst points out however that it’s hardly ‘one size fits all’. Many are struggling with the prospect of extremely long retirements on meagre incomes, which offers an opportunity for supermarkets to focus their offering for a new breed of pensioner.
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Anecdotal evidence indicates that supermarkets approaching closing time may be experiencing an influx of middle-aged bargain hunters. As those baby boomers who have worked and saved all their lives approach the time when they are seriously considering how to spend their retirement and whether or not they can afford to spend anything on more than life’s essentials, networks are springing up to minimise and share their outgoings.
It used to be that only students, impoverished young mothers and bag ladies would descend on baskets of markdowns, damaged tins and bruised fruit. Nowadays, they are frequently joined by a growing band of pensioners who have to count every penny. It isn’t just the homeless who appreciate supermarket discards and scurry to find products discounted because they are nearing their sell-by date. It is the customers themselves whose sell-by date has been extended, often leaving them forced to find ways to make ends meet until then.
Food, medicine or credit card debt?
In the US, particularly, where the high cost of medication competes with the high cost of food and clothing, the years of saving for a comfortable pension frequently result in a vision of the years stretching on as we live longer and have to make meagre incomes stretch accordingly. The argument about prescription drug charges rages on, with the added twist of pensioners having to choose between medicine and food or paying for the latter on credit cards.
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By GlobalDataFor the past decade or so, the received wisdom has been that baby boomers were amongst the most affluent and discerning consumers on earth. Their profile frequently included the descriptors discriminating and demanding. They were believed to possess vast quantities of disposable income and to enjoy the freedom of opportunity with which to fill their copious leisure time.
Now, with the stock market being acknowledged as not altogether reliable, pension companies and even government spending on the elderly being affected by the larger-than-predicted number of people living longer than expected, the situation is being drastically re-evaluated. Facing an extended old age with disappointing holes in their savings and pensions, many consumers must cope on a low income.
According to consumer research from the International Dairy, Deli, Bakery Association (IDDBA), a significant proportion of over-50s are concerned about affording food and prescription drugs. Some 32% are concerned about having enough money for food, including 14% who are “seriously concerned”. The dilemma arises because 94% believe that there is a link between diet and health and 81% agree that they have become more conscious of what they eat as they have got older.
Of the 81% who read nutritional labels, 47% said they were less likely to buy products without nutritional labels. The demand for more information was one of the strongest findings, along with wanting the option to buy small quantities, especially in easy to open and re-seal environmentally friendly packaging. This, again, raises the issue of preferences compared with affordability.
Tataboline Brant, asking in the Anchorage Press in July 2002 why healthcare in Alaska costs “so damn much,” explained that “Alaska produces almost nothing you can eat, drink, wear or live in” but went on to point out: “That’s not to say shipping and distribution can’t be done in a cost effective and profitable way – some of the national big-box retailers in Anchorage are among the most successful stores in their chains.”
Consumers in Anchorage need want for nothing as all the big players are there but, as the population ages, the state university is offering courses in gerontology to identify their needs and how best to meet them. In Alaska, the northernmost state in the US, pensioners used to retire to the “lower 48”. But as more people reach that stage in their lives, more are staying put in Alaska and the state is wondering, for the first time, what to do with them. There is little or no experience of old people’s nutritional needs, for example.
Elsewhere in the US, special opportunities may arise in neighbourhoods hosting NORCs (naturally occurring retirement communities). While these may be an urban American phenomenon, the fact remains that a recent study identified some 5000 apartment buildings nationwide with a surprisingly high proportion of elderly residents. The largest of its type, Co-op City in the Bronx, New York, is home to some 50,000 residents of whom 8000 are 65 or older.
Taking care of themselves
Both New York State and the US federal government have become involved in initiatives to encourage “Ageing in Place”. Individuals who moved into their homes when they had young families are now members of naturally ageing communities who never felt any need to move. Nor do they aspire now to nursing homes. Which isn’t to say that they don’t need assistance with their shopping, and have a preference for convenience and home delivery. They may not necessarily want to shop online, but there is a growing population who would appreciate finding ways to avoid carrying their purchases home. Not everyone wants, or needs, a delivery of Meals on Wheels to save them the trouble of planning, shopping and cooking.
Meanwhile, in Japan the birth rate is falling as life expectancy increases, leaving the country with the expectation of two people per retiree in work within 25 years as the 75+ population triples. According to Jonathan Watts in The Guardian (5 August, 2002), the latter is attributed to a low-fat diet, reliable healthcare and high standards of living. The operative word in Watts’ article is “healthy”. “Two in three of those aged over 65 want to keep working as long as they are healthy – a far higher proportion than in other developed countries.” This would, inevitably, affect their income levels as well as their independence and ability to continue pursuing the healthy diet that got them that far in the first place.
One of Australia’s solutions is to target silver surfers with sites such as www.aboutseniors.com.au, www.health.gov.au and www.healthyageing.com.au, all of which include information specifically aimed at the concerns of older people. Health and nutrition issues, as well as links to shopping sites are provided. The latter cover the things most consumers are after, but also offer advice on items that people don’t need until they reach a certain stage in their lives.
In a recent discussion on US website www.retailwire.com entitled “Un-defining ageing baby boomers,” contributors debated the difference between chronology and biological clocks. “Supermarket guru” Phil Lempert started by warning retailers that they must prepare themselves for a combination of new parents in their 50s, more health-conscious and self-assertive consumers and shoppers more likely to prefer assembling their meals than cooking. “Baby boomers’ wants and needs,” he said, “have become much too complex to compartmentalise.”
Recognising that the world is going to be occupied by an increasingly active ageing population is essential to identifying and addressing the ways in which eating habits have changed and will continue to develop. Generally living in one- or two-person households, single portions and loose food, which enable customers to select and pack their own choices, are one option. Baby boomers are renowned for wanting to know what they’re eating and taking responsibility for their own choices.
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Watching what we eat
They are also notorious for linking health and diet, though, which could make single portions less attractive to some. The downside of extra fat, sugar and calories in single servings was chronicled by the Wall Street Journal in July. Single-sized food packs have become a major source of financial growth for the food industry, it reported, and of girth growth for consumers. By packing single servings into multi-packs, said the paper, consumers are encouraged to purchase and eat more.
In addition, convenience and functional foods, as well as meal solutions, are invariably expensive as manufacturers amortise the costs of development, added value and packaging. Of course, there are also cost implications when products come in sizes that are too large, causing wastage if they are not used quickly enough. But the conclusion could be drawn that there are costs attributed to ageing which have not necessarily been forecast to the extent that they are being experienced.
By Bernice Hurst, just-food.com correspondent
