Do We Know Enough to Market to the Older Consumer? The Case of Marketing Correctness

Abstract

The world is undergoing a demographic transition. The 60+ age group would constitute 16% of the world population by the year 2050 as against 5% in 1970. India would not be an exception to this trend. This transition has far-reaching implications, for public policy, marketing and health care. It is doubtful whether, most marketers have adopted the concept of the older consumer. Plausibly, the number of older consumers and their composition in the total population has not been substantial enough to merit their attention. It follows that marketers lack the experience of targeting the older consumer. The knowledge essential to craft such a focused strategy is also sketchy. The evidence on the differential sensitivity of older consumers to marketing stimuli is rather conflicting. However, literature documents their several limitations, the most prominent of them being cognitive limitation. We argue therefore, that given the limitations of the older consumers to qualify as a normal market...