These Newsletters are based on a simple idea. The way that service businesses treat their customers is a form of ageism. Consumer ageism. By not recognizing their needs they are signaling that they are not important. Such ageism has been shown to be bad for the consumers. It can trigger “the enemy within”. This is that negative stereotype of being old that we build up throughout our lives. The stereotype that tells us “You ought not to do this at our age”. Many of my Newsletters are designed to refute the “enemy within”. The stereotypes that we hold are out dated and have not kept up with healthy ageing.

It is bad for the firms. The only growth market left is the over 65’s. The youth markets have been in decline for decades. My thesis is that firms only need to make minor adjustments to serve the over 65’s. Most of them would have a neutral impact on the rest of the consumers. Many would be attractive to all consumers.

The Chief Medical Officers Input.

Each year the CMO produces an annual report. This year’s report came out a few weeks ago: “Health in an Ageing Society”. It is a heavy read at 400 pages. I was lucky enough to hear Chris Whitty speak about his report. One of his key points was the geographic location within England of the over 65’s. In fact, he uses maps of the distribution on the title page.

The older generations are migrating to the fringes of the country. They are leaving the cities. They are becoming ever more concentrated on the coasts and in rural areas. It was in 2002 that for the first time the “over 65” population in rural areas was higher than the cities. Since then, the gap has continued to widen. The more rural and remote the higher the proportion of people over 65. We move to the cities to study and work. The outward migration starts when we have families. It accelerates when we retire.

The Office of National Statistics is tracking such internal migration. Whitty points out the health policy implications. There is no one to take care of the older people in these areas. He looks at the ratio of pensioners to the working age population. For a major conurbation, such as Manchester, the ratio is 15%. Move to the New Forest and that jumps to 31%. There is one person over 65 for every two people under 65. The medical and care infrastructure will have to be restructured. Most major hospitals have grown up in larger cities.

In a previous Newsletter (#063 Baby Boomers versus Millenials) the societal implications of such migration were raised. One proven way to breakdown any discrimination is to build social contacts. Much better a shared task or work. When direct experience is inconsistent with the stereotype it changes it. The young might appreciate the old, and visa versa! According to Whitty’s analysis, older people are becoming isolated from the young. They are living away from the young. This can only increase ageism.

The Chief Marketing Officers Problem.

The age profile of the cities is hardly changing. The young will still dominate those markets. There will be fewer young people going forward but the mix will stay roughly the same. The fast-food restaurants and the bank branches will hardly need to change. Growth in these markets will depend on growing disposable income.

In terms of number of consumers, the markets are growing in the rural areas. In both the Isle of Wight and the New Forrest the over 65’s already represents 30% of the population. In these areas the pressure should be to change the experiences. To make them more suitable for older customers. Physical access and aisles should be bigger. Menus or instructions printed in larger typefaces and with higher contrast. Background music carefully controlled. Restaurants designed with more sound absorbance.

The ability of firms to execute such a mix will depend on their model. Diversity increases operational complexity. Complexity increases costs. For highly standardized firms there will be a challenge. Even McDonalds has different formats. How far they are prepared to modify will depend on their view of the opportunity. Can the markets dominated by the over 65’s cope with the digital ordering systems or app based ordering. They might cope but will this satisfy them?